Witch Doctor
by SpeakerOfTheBeasts
Summary: With hardly a chance to recover from the storm; Forrest, Carson, and Castiel alike are thrust into the latest crisis the city is faced with. The situation only made worse with the arrival of an IOA member. Who's opinion on their latest allies could cause more problems for the already stressed medical team.
1. Dawn

_So starts another story! I am doing my best to keep everything going, but even_ then _life is busy! Moving soon, farming is in full swing, and there are horses to work. I have limited things down to weekly updates, to allow myself time to keep ahead in my writing. I do hope those who follow this understand. Thanks!_

* * *

 **"Being able to admit when you're wrong is important, but so is standing up for yourself when you're right."**

The sun had risen on the city, as did every morning breaking over the endless ocean that surrounded the floating ship. As it did, people woke and began their regular duties. There were missions to get ready for, paperwork to do, and projects to be either started or pushed off for a later date. The place had a routine to it, an effortless way of going about the day to day tasks that it provided on a near constant basis. Never was there a dull moment or a sense of nothing to do. There was always something to do here; it was just a matter of digging around until you found something you were useful at.

The same sunlight floating from the windows is what woke Carson slowly from his sleep. It fell over his face, as he regretfully woke from what had been the best night's sleep he'd had in god knows how long. His eyes slowly opened, looking at the familiar ceiling of his room. He had laid there staring at it enough times to recognize the familiar lines and patterns that covered it. It took him a moment, to remember the events of the evening before. He smiled, the memory would forever be in his head. He glanced down, and the grin only grew as he gazed upon the sleeping form of Forrest.

She was tucked along his side between his body and arm. Her head was resting gently on his chest with her hand resting just below his neck. He could feel the soft rise and fall of her body as she breathed, still asleep. Her body covered by one of his shirts, but he could feel the smooth skin of her legs wrapped around his own. Her hair fell in waves over her back and his arms, as he let his hand rest against her hip. He had never expected this to be the ending of the day before. He smirked, she never slept in this late, no matter how late she had been up the day before. Yet here she was, able to see it was nearly ten in the afternoon on the clock on the wall. She was stunning, as he studied the way the sunlight reflected against her hair. He had never seen such beauty or elegance as what she had. He did not know what he had done to deserve her or earn her affection. All he wanted was for this to become constant, to be curled up with her in the narrow bed they currently shared. He had made that need very known the night before.

He knew this moment would not last, as he felt a deep sigh escape her body. Her body shifting slightly, as she seemed to nuzzle into his neck contently. She did not want to move or open her eyes as her body woke. She just did not want the moment to end, as she enjoyed the smell that was him. The way the blanket around her smelled the same and held the heat of both their bodies. Her hand curled softly against his chest, her leg slowly running along his as she felt his hold tighten possessively. With her eyes closed, she smiled against his neck.

Something had never felt so right to her; it felt natural to be curled against him in the same bed. Nothing could ruin the moment she was having. Except for one thing, *You have much to tell me.* She managed to hold in the groan, as Castiel's teasing tone filled her head.

*Oh I see you are awake.* She responded with a slightly annoyed tone. Of course, he had decided to talk then; he couldn't wait for them to be having breakfast or something similar. *How much do you know?*

She knew he had been blocked when she entered this room, but when asleep he can quickly get around the barrier she was able to place up. *I have only been awake two or so hours little one, but I can tell by your emotions what happened.*

She could feel her face turn red, *Well, I guess I don't have to explain that part.*

*No, just what all happened when you had me on morphine.* He had an understanding tone, and she did find it comforting. *He has had feelings for you since we came to this city little one, I have been watching that for some time now.*

*All knowing Castiel huh?* She could nearly feel an eye roll from the dragon, before his tone became serious,

*The men of Loonrian would never have looked at you or acted the way he does. Cherish him little one, enjoy your time with him. You both have the day off, and I am here helping in the Infirmary. Have a good day.* His voice was loving as ever, as his mind left hers in silence. While he did not block her out, he gave her privacy.

He knew she was awake, and he shifted himself a little "Morning love." He said as he leaned up just slightly to kiss the top of her head. He could feel the grin on her face, as she lifted her head slowly up. Her eyes looking softly into his own, sleep still holding them ever slightly.

"Morning." She leaned up, placing a light kiss on his jaw before leaning up on her arms, feeling his body stretch slightly under her.

"You slept late?" The teasing tone of his voice causing her to give him a slightly sideways glance.

"Best night's sleep I have had in a long time." She said as she slowly pulled away from him, sitting up on the bed and stretching her arms over her head with a yawn as she gazed out the windows of his room. Looking at the elegant spires of the city that glistened in the sunlight. She felt Carson shift, as he leaned up next to her. His bright blue eyes never once leaving her as he wrapped one arm around her waist. "I could say the same."

She smiled, as she realized how awkward she felt at that moment in time, she had never allowed someone else to see her like this. She had never placed herself into a situation like this, and she had no idea what do do with herself. But she watched as his eyes slowly looked away, in the shy manner she was used to seeing from him, "I'm not one to move things that fast normally." She realized she was not the only one slightly nervous about the current situation as his voice filled the room. Watching as his one free hand rubbed the back of his neck and his eyes refused to meet hers.

"I don't mind." She grimaced at herself in her mind; she sounded like a child. She had no idea what the hell to say, or respond with. In the back of her mind, she could feel Castiel's encouraging presence, knowing damn well he could feel her embarrassment. But Carson's eyes finally found her's again, and she could see a hint of fear in them along with the affection he felt. Her innocence was not helping at all. She smiled, scooting herself closer to him again to lean her head against his shoulder.

"Then I guess I shouldn't apologize?" She could hear the slight worry in his question. "Never apologize last night Carson." Her voice was a whisper, as she felt him gently lean his cheek to her head. "I think the speed of things is what I needed to realize how I feel about you." She knew how deeply she cared for him, how much she longed for his touch and the comfort of his arms. The night before had been what she needed to cement them, and know they were in fact real and returned.

It made his body float, the words she spoke in the quiet of the room, able to feel the warmth of her body against his own. She was right, in the pas 24 hours he realized how deeply he had fallen for her. How much she meant and how much he needed her. He had not expected it, he never would have thought someone like her would walk into his life and make his heart sing again.

"Cas tried to tell me." She said with a slight laugh as she leaned away from him, looking up with bright eyes.

"Did he now?" He felt a moment of panic, wondering how much the dragon now knew. Fearing the wrath of the large reptile, the idea of being hung from a balcony in the dragon's paws coming to mind.

"He said that you were different and that I was oblivious to how you looked at me." He felt his face turn a shade of red, as she smiled up at him. "I see the way you look at me now Carson. And I hope you still will?." She sounded almost scared to him, as he rested his forehead against hers.

"I never will love, I can promise ya that" The silence was held, as she looked into his eyes and understood,

"I'm sorry, that I was so oblivious to the way you felt." His smile was warm, as he shook his head slightly.

"You have nothing to be sorry about." His voice was feather-like, as she let the words sink in. She had so much to say, well, repeat. She knew she had told him every emotion she felt the night before when she had let her soul connect with his. She had always heard some of the women she lived with at the university, talk about their relationships, she had never once heard them talk about it in the way she had experienced it with Carson. He had made her feel like royalty, and he had worshiped her, just thinking about it now made her face feel warm.

She smiled, before looping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. He returned it warmly, as he squeezed her tight for a moment. "Don't know about you love, but I am starving." Taking note of the slight flush to her face before she had hugged him. She laughed, as she leaned away nodding her agreement. She uncurled her legs from under her, looking to the door of his room with a shocked expression to see some of her clothes freshly folded on the floor, with a pair of her boots on top.

"That shit head has been awake much longer than he claims." She growled the words, as he looked over to the neatly folded clothes. "Castiel?"

"Yes, he said he had only been awake a few hours, I feel like it was more than that." He watched as she stood. The shirt she wore falling halfway down her thighs as she walked gracefully to the folded clothes. She looked so fragile, yet he knew there was a strength to her that many underestimated.

"You're gorgeous you know?" He said as she picked up her things, and turned to look at him with a slightly red tone over her cheeks, that only made him smile more.

"You're not bad looking yourself." She attempted to return the compliment, but she was clueless really on how to react. She knew she was horrible at this, romance anyway, as she held her clothes in her arms. "So um, are you okay if I take a shower here? I still smell like wet dragon and mud." Not that he had noticed, but he smiled.

"Of course love." The smile that flashed across her face was a bashful one, as she slowly wandered over towards the bathroom and let the door close behind her.

He sat on the bed, lost in thought as he listened for the sound of water as it began to fall inside the shower. Hard to believe in a span of 24 hours their relationship had changed entirely. For the better, of course, he had not felt like this in months. Not since the explosive crash that was his relationship with Cadmen. He shook the thought of that out of his head, letting the memories of the night before take their place. He had never known a connection like the one he held with Forrest. She had a beauty that he could not put into words, be it the curiosity that danced in her green eyes or the tenderness in her smile. She had awoken emotions he did not realize he processed, never In his life had he made love to someone so deeply.

Crawling reluctantly out of the warmth of the bed, he rummaged around to find his clothes for the day. He already knew he was spending most of it with her, probably filling the rest of the team in on the events of the day before. Not that he minded, of course, some of the more personal details would be left out. He had never been one to be open about personal relationships, but the catastrophe that was Cadmen had sadly been out in public. He did not need the entire city knowing about things like this, at least not yet. He ran his fingers through his hair, after pulling one of his regular dark blue t-shirts on. He could not help but listen contently to the sound of running water, knowing full well she was inside and would walk out again to him. She would return to him every time, at least that was what he longed for after the evening they had shared.

When she did, she panicked for a moment. Her eyes darting around the room that was now empty. "Carson?" She knew she sounded desperate in her call, but the idea of being left alone in the room made her uncharacteristically nervous. The idea of him leaving made her heartache. "I'm out here." She hung onto the accented words and walked away from the bathroom door to see Carson standing out on his balcony. Dressed, and ready to go about the day as they normally would have. He smiled, seeing her dressed in her traditional garb and her silver hair braided tightly.

She walked out to him, her smile large as she wiggled her way under his arm, and stood close to his side. The pair looked out over the city, listening as the waves washed against the edges below. "You ready to go eat?" She asked as she let her eyes close, basking in the much-needed heat the sun provided. "Aye, let's go." She felt the tight squeeze of his arms before he pulled away heading for the door. She watched for a moment, looking at how his body moved with such ease. He was more than not too bad; he was hot in every way to her. She smiled, bounding over to catch up as the door opened and the pair walked out into the deserted hallway.

* * *

Castiel sighed, as he sat in front of Carson's desk, his paws delicately rummaging through the paperwork that covered most of the space. Carson and Forrest alike had neglected most of the reports they should have been doing, but Castiel did not mind. Forrest was still not the most fluent in English, and he had no issues getting all of the paperwork completed and turned in. He was quite sure Elizabeth had no idea that close to 80 percent of their paperwork had been completed by the dragon. Yet the agreement between the three had been what she does not know won't hurt her.

He had already inspected himself, one of the nurses that morning having explained that Carson had been the one to set and fuse the bone in his wing, and stitch above his eye. He had to admit, the doctor's ability shown in the work that he did. The bone fuse was textbook, and Castiel had to admit he had only seen stitching of this quality from Forrest before. It made the dragon happy, to know that there was someone else with her skill level. The dragon let out a soft sigh, as he began to organize the paperwork on the desk into piles, one for Forrest and one for Carson. It really would not take the dragon long to do, and then it would be one less thing to worry about for the two. They had much more important things to focus on in his opinion.

He had woken nearly three hours earlier, around their regular time to wake up. One of the nurses had already removed all the monitors and IVs from his ears and gave him the go-ahead to leave. He had been able to feel that Forrest had him blocked, but when she is asleep, it is effortless for him to get around her barriers. He had opted to walk around the city, not risking any flight on the newly repaired wing. In that time, he had gotten into Forrest's head and felt the emotions that it held even as she slept peacefully. He could feel her happiness, and how safe she felt at that moment in time.

Wading in those emotions, it had not taken the dragon long to figure out what had happened. He had seen it coming; he knew the relationship between the two would morph from friendship to lovers. The way Carson treated her and looked at her told Castiel all he needed to know. His kind was very preceptive of the emotions of others, and humans tended to show and express theirs with much more freedom. He knew the Earth doctor had been developing feelings for his Forrest since the day they came here. The day the dragons returned proved his point even better. He had heard the conversation between Carson and his friends during their celebration; he had listened to the doctor talk himself up to asking for that dance. That night he knew things would change, and for Castiel it was bittersweet.

He had protected Forrest from the harsh reality that was their world for so many years. He had been her one protector, and companion for most of her life. When they went to the university, he had done his best to protect her from the not so kind-hearted men that it held, but he could only do so much. He was protective of her, in ways no one here would ever understand. Leaving her in the care of Carson had come naturally. The dragon had felt the ability to trust the man with her. Sure, he believed he could do that with most the humans of this city, for they were not Loonrian. But not like him, no Carson was different even from them. For Castiel, he was happy for his little human. Satisfied that she had found someone she felt so strongly for, glad that she had found someone else she felt safe in the company of. Yet he felt sadness, watching as the little girl he had raised turned into more than just a curious doctor. It pained him, to know he was not the only one she felt safe with or would seek comfort with. Jealous, that now he would have to share the beautiful individual that was Forrest.

When he had walked to their quarters that morning, the idea he had of what had transpired in the night was confirmed. He had opened the door of their room to see their bed empty, the sheets cold. He knew she had not been awake yet, for he could still feel her mind asleep in his. He knew where he would find her. He had done the kindness, of rounding up some fresh clothes for her along with a pair of her boots. He had lost himself in memories when he held those homemade boots in his paws. Remembering how frustrated she had been trying to remake them after the attack on Loonrian. It had taken her many tries before she perfected them, but she managed to. She was a determined person, and not many things held her back.

He knew the code to Carson's door as Forrest did. There was rarely anything that one knew that the other didn't. He had opened the door, peering inside to see that the pair were curled up together in the bed. He had not dared walk into the room; he only set the folded clothes down on the floor just inside the door. He had sat looking for a moment, noticing how tightly Carson held her. The man was protective, and possessive of her already. Castiel had been excited by the idea when he closed the door and went back to the infirmary with the new found information in his head. He trusted Carson; he knew the man would not hurt Forrest. Healers rarely hurt in that way, at least that was how Castiel had come to view the ones of Earth. Loonrian doctors were a different breed. Sure they helped and healed, but the entire Loonrian race was naturally selfish. That was why Forrest was so unique to him, she was a variance in her people and deserved to be protected and cherished. He only hoped she understood that.

The dragon had opened the laptop on the desk when his ears picked up familiar footfalls. The dragon's sensitive ears allowed him the ability to match footsteps to faces. Everyone had a unique way of moving, and the quiet but steady footfalls could only belong to Teyla. He paused, moving away from the desk to poke his head out curiously as Teyla walked towards the office, he stepped out, dipping his head in greeting before writing onto his tablet. 'Good morning Teyla, what brings you down here?' She smiled lightly, looking at the dragon who had walked out of the office. Not aware that Forrest and Carson alike had been given the day off.

"Hello Castiel, is Dr. Beckett or Forrest here?" While she did appreciate the dragon's ability, she still found herself feeling more comfortable with either doctor.

'Elizabeth has given them both the day off to recover, but I am here. Is something wrong?' The dragon could already see that something was. He could smell the faint scent of sweat, the kind he would associate with fever. Her heart rate was slightly elevated, and he could see the natural glow of the women's skin was dull.

She sighed, before realizing that he was the one available to help. "Well, I was unable to sleep well last night. I think I have been a bit feverish. I just do not quite feel right." She explained as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Castiel nodded his head, before motioning her to follow. She did as he kindly patted an open bed with his tail before writing.

'Well, you are not the first one this morning to come in with these symptoms.' The dragon was writing to her as he picked up one of the scanners from the stand next to the bed.

"There have been others?" Teyla was curious, as she listened to the dragon start working the scanner. He nodded his head before his tail wrote onto the tablet next to her.

'Around seven other than yourself, a few marines, then mostly engineers. Lynda explained to me earlier that it seems to be a pretty common Earth cold.' He nodded, as he looked at the scanner and seemed to smile. 'Same readings as the others have shown.'

She watched as he walked over to one of the medical cabinets, digging a pair of keys from the bag on his side. "Dr. Beckett has given you keys?" She asked curiously, seeing as Carson was not one to share the keys well. Rodney had been attempting to get copies of them for as long as she could remember. He pulled a few small packets of medication out, before walking back over to her. Holding out his paw for her to take them.

'Yes, both Forrest and I have a set. These should help with the fever, and this will help with the congestion. Just head back to your quarters and get some rest. If you need anything, just radio me.' She looked at him curiously,

"You have a radio?"

'I took Forrest's, seeing as she should be getting her rest from the past day's events. I will hear a call if you need anything.' Teyla had to admit; the dragon was as kind-hearted as any doctor in the infirmary. While she found it strange to have an animal be so knowledgeable, she knew his heart was in the right place. She took the medications from his paws and smiled.

"Thank you Castiel, I will see you later." The dragon dipped his head in goodbye, before walking back into the office after she had left.


	2. First Name Basis

"Look, all I am saying is I think I could take her." Rodney glancing around at the two other men at the mess hall table with him. John's eye roll could have easily been felt across the city, as Ronon shook his head.

"You could hardly take the one time a bird got into your office."

"Hey, that thing was big and aggressive." Both John and Ronon alike laughing at the memory of the entire situation from months prior. They were all pretty sure Zelenka had a recording of the petrified scientist attempting to escape the panicking animal.

"Well tell you what McKay, come down and spar with us, find out how lethal little can be." John suggesting as he set his fork back down on his tray.

"Sorry I am a bit too busy with important things; besides, I don't want to know what Carson would do to me if I gave her a bloody nose or something."

"Your just chicken cause you know you would lose." Rodney glared, seeing both men attempting to hold in laughter.

"I would pay to see her slam you to the mats." Ronon joking as John nodded his agreement.

"She wouldn't even need her second set of eyes for you, Rodney."

"Pick on Rodney day today is it?" the sarcasm thick, as he looked down at his food before glancing over. "Speaking of the devil."

Forrest and Carson walked side by side, each holding their tray of food. They had managed to sleep through breakfast, leaving them to enjoy lunch. They were able to spot the three men and happily walked over to their table. "Morning sleeping beauties." John commenting, watching as Forrest sat down next to Ronon, and Carson next to Rodney. "We get to hear about yesterdays little adventure?"

Carson glancing up to Forrest, who had happily started to eat. "I guess we could." He paused, thinking of the best way to tell the tale. " Well, things were going great, till we got ready to leave and Castiel decided it was a great time to tell us a storm had kicked up." He explained, as Forrest then chimed in.

"Cas said it did not feel too strong from the village, and we had flown in quite a few decent ones ourselves before, so we loaded on and took off. Was not till we made it over the mountains that he realized the storm was much worse than he thought." She was attempting to focus on her food and trying not to focus on Carson across from her. "Well, we got sucked into the heat of it. Could not do much about it. Castiel tried to get us to the ground for nearly an hour but in the wind like that landing safely was just about impossible."

John nodded, knowing full well what kind of winds the three had been faced with, in a jumper it was one thing, on a living breathing animal he could not imagine. "So I was holding on for dear life when she somehow manages to climb from her saddle to mine. Starts untying the leg straps on the saddle!" There was a smile on his face as he explained it, but she rolled her eyes.

"If you had been a bit more useful I would not have had to. Anyway, Cas and I knew there was one way down. So I had to get him detached from the saddle so we could jump."

"Wait, as in jump off the dragon?" Rodney asking as he looked between the two,

"Yes Rodney, only she failed to tell me about that part."

"Like you would have gone willingly."

"Aye. So Castiel dives, and we end up free falling." The banter between the pair had not gone unnoticed, as John and Rodney passed glances. Ronon simply staying quiet and listening.

"He did catch us in his paws, seeing as we were more protected in them than on his back. He makes a crash landing. Carson passed out when we hit."

"Next thing I know, we are on the ground, soaking wet covered in mud and Castiel has a compound fracture on his wing and a concussion."

"The problem is, the pain Castiel was feeling drifted over to me. Because of the bond. So I dosed him up pretty high on Morphine to keep him kinda sedated, and allow the painkiller to drift over to me. Keep me somewhat sane."

"You still should have given yourself some," Carson commenting, making her shoot him a rather annoyed look.

"You would have had to then deal with Cas and me loopy on your strange drug. You would not have enjoyed it."

There was a laugh shared between the two, as the other three stayed rather quiet. "Anyway, we needed to find somewhere to hide, get out of the damn rain, so we started walking, trying to find somewhere. Even in the trees the rain was hard enough to keep constantly drenched, we were knee deep in mud most the time." Carson explained as he allowed Forrest a moment to eat, "Things were great until she noticed we were being hunted by whatever the hell those things were."

"I doubled us back on our tracks and noticed them. From there, things got a little crazy."

"They weren't already?" Rodney had already found himself in a slightly panicked state thinking of the situation.

"No, we managed to keep pretty calm till they decided to close in. Carson managed to drop one of them, and the others sorta went cannibal on it. Gave us enough time to get a head start."

"Then you pushed me off a bloody cliff."

"Okay, you know what? We were cornered, and I know damn well you would have hesitated in jumping. Anyway, they corner us on a cliff overlooking that river, and yes, I did push Carson over the edge with Castiel. I jumped after them."

They were all silent, as Carson picked up the story. "Turns out someone does not know how to swim; once I got Castiel on the bank, I had to go back in after her."

"Thank you for saving me by the way. So then, we wandered around again till we found the log we were able to hide in. Waited for you guys and that is pretty much it." She said as she glanced up at Carson, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Not quite as exciting as everyone would like to think it was. I took a shower last night, but I still think I can feel the mud."

"I feel bad for the nurses in the infirmary with Castiel; I am sure he still smells like wet dragon."

"What does that smell like?" Rodney jumping in as the two doctors looked over at him. "Um, like wet dog only worse." Carson explaining as Forrest gained a puzzled look. "They are an animal on Earth we keep as pets." She nodded her understanding before John sighed.

"Well, better get the story consistent on both ends, Dr. Weir will want to hear it. Oh, actually, you ready for today Forrest?"

She looked at him puzzled, "Ready for what?"

"Mr. Woolsy will be here later today; I believe you and Castiel have interviews with him. I think he said he wanted to meet with Malco and the others as well."

"Oh shit.. I forgot about that." The four men all watched as she sighed, and rested her head on her hands. "I really was not wanting to leave the city today at all…"

"Well, Dr. Weir did give us both the day off, I am sure she could have all that pushed to tomorrow." Carson suggesting, able to watch the stress of the idea come to her eyes.

"Yeah, I will even help with that if I have to." John adding on as they all say for a moment. "They should be dialing in the next 20 or so minutes. We should probably be up there to greet him." John suggesting as he began to get up from the chair he was in.

"Probably a good idea." Forrest agreeing as she looked down at her near-empty tray. *Hey, meet us in the gate room in a few minutes?* She quickly received the agreeing emotions of Castiel. *Of course, I will be there shortly*

John had hung back with Rodney, considering Ronon had managed to disappear into the city in hopes of avoiding the IOA visitor. They had hung back just enough, so they could both watch Carson and Forrest interact without being overheard. "Well, the talking is a bit more, exciting between them." John suggesting with a lifted eyebrow, trying to figure out if they always walked that close to one another.

"Well, at least on something not medical. I have caught hints of their conversations in the infirmary; they sound like this." Rodney quickly shutting down a bit of hope for John that the outcome of his bet had started to drift in his favor.

"But, I do think that managing to sleep at the same time is a bit interesting." John looking over at Rodney, who was puzzled for a moment before his eyes closed and he just about visibly shuddered.

"No, sorry he is not that bold how many times do I have to explain that to you?" There was a smirk.

"I don't mean like that, get your damn mind out of the gutter. They could have just stayed watching a movie, talking about things, fell asleep in the others quarters. Not saying it was intimate McKay." Rodney lifted a finger, his mouth partially open before his hand reformed into a fist and his mouth closed. Knowing full well arguing on the matter would likely make things worse.

Carson smiled as they rounded a corner, watching as Castiel bounded over to them. His body shrinking down as the dragon glided onto Forrest's shoulders. He watched, as the dragon curled around her shoulders and neck. His face pressing into the side of hers, as she giggled and scratched him behind the ear. That laugh, it made him giddy himself. The way it was contagious to him is what drew him in, things that spread were usually something he needed to stop, but not that. Her eyes danced with her smile, as she looked over at him, and Castiel jumped from her shoulders to his. The dragon's paws holding lightly to his shirt without tearing the fabric as he curled onto Carson's shoulders.

He had become close to the animal, then again he spent more time with him than anyone else on base. Carson knew the scales on Cas's belly were not rough to the touch, but smooth as he felt the dragon press against him. Then how he did not feel a warmer body to his own, but a cooler one. Like when he would flip his pillow in the middle of the night to the cooler side. He laughed, as Castiel repeated the same pressing to Carson, who had learned it was a means to show affection quite common among dragons. He reached his hand up, scratching in the same spot Forrest always did, just under the dragon's ear, feeling his neck arch into the contact just like a cat would. Being allergic to cats, Carson had never really known if he was a cat person, but he had come to learn the past few months, he was a dragon person. He enjoyed Castiel's simple way of going, and understanding.

Forrest smiled, watching as Castiel happily greeted Carson. She was more than thankful they both seemed to like one another; she had heard the horror stories on Loonrian of bonded pairs having issues with romantic partners not meshing well with their dragon. That did not seem to be the case here as she watched. *Come on, enough harassing him into scratching your ears.* Her call was heard, as Castiel lifted his head away from Carson and hopped back to the floor, growing as he did to walk with them. His head now level to theirs again.

*Ready to meet Mr. Woolsy? Richard is his first name I believe.* Castiel seemed to send his own amused tone. *Ah yes, that is today, though I am sure many things have been pushed to tomorrow?* *we are hoping for that* *He is looking at you again little one* She resisted the urge to lean over and smack the dragon on the neck, as she glanced over to see the adoring look that came from Carson.

"You know, you're not subtle." There was no one in the hallway when she said it smiling, seeing as Rodney and John had fallen back farther behind them, but she watched as his jaw went slack and his eyes averted to look at his feet,

"Um, I can't help it love sorry."

She smiled, "I think it would be safer, and easier for us both to keep things a little, well, private. Just for now. Even more so since the boss's boss is going to be here a few days." She stopped for a moment, taking a light hold of his arm to turn him.""Aye can understand that." He said as he enjoyed the moment of proximity to her, even if Castiel was a few steps away. "Just a wee bit difficult to not stare at someone like you, even more so when you realize that person is yours." He could see how she tried to hold in the grin that his words created, her smile a bit crooked as she let her eyes hold his for a moment, before turning to walk again.

She was thankful that Castiel stayed quiet on the matter, as they walked side by side again in silence. Castiel moving just ahead of them as the gate room opened up before them. The familiar sound of those working at the controls of the city. She had done her best to learn most everyone's names and with Castiel's help. Then had come the challenge of attempting to teach the other dragons. She had at least managed to get Malco and some of the more important figures in the clans good with the senior staff's names, but even then there were still challenges. Cazador always seemed to mix up Teyla and Elizabeth, when as Rikarie thought Ronon's name was Ryan. Slow progress, but progress none the less. She watched as Castiel bounded up the stairs, landing softly next to Elizabeth who smiled at him warmly before looking down at the two doctors who had begun to walk up the stairs. "How are we this morning?" She was curious, knowing Carson well enough. The way he moved and looked was different than usual. His posture upright, and how bright his eyes were given the past 24 hours seemed strange. She had questions but refrained as the pair stopped next to her.

"Good actually, nothing a hot shower and a good night's sleep couldn't fix." Carson the first to respond, as Forrest listened and then heard Castiel laughing loudly in her head. *Shut the fuck up Cas. * The tone could have killed, as she watched the dragon just behind Elizabeth wink at her.

"Well, we had to be somewhat presentable for our visitor. I was hoping though that we could possibly push our interviews with him to tomorrow? While Cas and I both feel much better it would probably be best we had one more day to recover. We are happy to introduce ourselves today."

Carson glanced over at her, able to catch how she had sped up her words, and seemed to be in a rush to get them out. It was not like her, at least in his experience, to talk that rapid. "I have already planned for that, as I said, you three all have the day off." She had caught it, the way Forrest seemed to nearly stutter at the request. But paid no mind, even if she was already asking herself questions and attempting to piece together what may have happened in the past 24 hours, that was causing both doctors to be slightly different in their manner.

Before anyone could speak again, it was John who bounded up the stairs. Taking a stand between Forrest and Carson as Castiel turned his head to the gate. "Just on time." He smirked as all of them turned to the gate, watching as the chevrons began to lock into place.

Carson glanced over at Forrest, slightly annoyed by the fact that John had taken the space between them. Then again, right now he almost didn't agree with her suggestion of keeping things private as much as it went against what he normally thought. It had not been a day since she had opened the door to his room yet he wanted to ensure that others knew a claim had been made. He knew how the men of the base could be when it came to the female occupants, and while he knew Castiel would be the one to ensure no one tried anything, he felt the need to make sure others knew she was his.

It left him somewhat conflicted, in doing what he wanted or listening to her request. He shook his head, causing Elizabeth to give him a sideways glance that he ignored. This could wait, till they had introduced Forrest and Castiel to the IOA member about to step through the Stargate. After all, they had the entire day to themselves, and he knew they could easily talk later on.

The gate roared to life before them, and as always it left Forrest in a state of awe. She doubted she would ever grow tired of watching the strange ring, seeing as it had been around for so long. How it had gone unnoticed to her people puzzled her, but then again maybe they did know. She may have been an upper-class Loonrian, but she was not high enough to know her government's secrets.

She sighed, as she felt Castiel's soft breath on the back of her arm, glancing just slightly to see the light grey of his nose. But all focus was on the gate, as a single man stepped into the city. The two had been told of him, and while reviews had been mixed, they leaned more towards the sour side. But Forrest and Castiel alike were never ones to judge on stories, meeting people face to face usually gave them all they needed, much due to Castiel's keen ability to judge character. The man before her was dressed highly, and the way he walked into the room reminded her much of her father, a man of law. They had not yet seen what a suit was, at least in person. A few of the cartoons they had seen depicted them, but this was different.

He had a briefcase in his hand, as he walked to the base of the stairs and looked up to them all, his eyes landing on Castiel and not wavering. "Mr. Woolsey, welcome back to Atlantis." Elizabeth's voice was warm and welcoming, something Forrest, Castiel, and the other dragons alike had come to enjoy the sound of.

"Dr. Weir, Colonel Sheppard, Dr. Beckett. It is good to see you all again." In that instant she was reminded, he was no Loonrian, in the way he smiled ever softly with his greeting letting his seriousness slide for a moment.

"I am sure you would like to meet the newest members of the city." Elizabeth stepping slightly to the side, as he walked up the stairs.

"Oh, yes of course." He stopped before Forrest and Castiel, both quick to note that Carson and John had moved away to stand more behind them quietly. "Dr. Atla, and Castiel I presume, I am Richard Woolsey." He looked at them both curiously, as Forrest smiled and offered her hand out to him.

"Please Richard, call me Forrest." She could see the moment of confusion, as he took her hand. "I'm sorry. In my culture, it is sporadic to use one's title and last name. As I have explained to the others before our titles are used in first introductions, the day we receive it, and the day we die."

Woolsey nodded his understanding, as much as he tried to focus on the conversation Castiel held his attention as he stood next to Forrest. As he let go of her hand, the dragon quickly took it into his paws, giving it a soft squeeze as the dragon dipped his head. Carson and John did their best to hold back looks of amusement, as the IOA member's face seems to drain of color at the dragon's forwardness.

"Castiel is excited to meet you as well; we have both heard much." John had to give the pair credit, they both were behaving well. He did not expect much of an issue from Forrest, but Castiel on the other hand already had a bit of a reputation as a prankster.

"Well, it is nice to finally meet both of you. I would like to start our interview as soon as possible if we may." He was right to business, as Elizabeth laced her fingers together.

"Mr. Woolsey, Forrest, Castiel, and Carson alike for that matter, have today off. They had quite the ordeal yesterday off-world, and all of them needed a bit of rest. They wanted to make sure they introduced themselves to you though."

He thought for a moment, before speaking again. "Well, if the debrief from yesterday has not been done I would like to sit in. If not could I read the report." Forrest did not need to even look behind her to feel Carson slightly tense at the idea of reciting their story once again, only this time to the person who could truly make their lives hell.

"Actually we were just getting ready to, this way please." Elizabeth was quick to turn and offered no escape from the debrief that had already been scheduled. Richard walked past Forrest and Castiel, both noticing the sideways glance to the dragon. *He is very nervous of you isn't he?* She glanced over, watching as John took off after the two dignitaries, leaving Carson at her side.

*Very much so, it is quiet enjoyable.*

She caught the off feeling of her partner, *You do not like him?*

*He reminds me too much of your father and his friends* The dragon said no more, but strangely walked away.

"Is he alright?" Carson's voice snapping her out of her concerned thoughts.

"I think so, just not getting the best vibe is all." She was reassured by a familiar smile as they both began to walk across the control room towards Elizabeth's office. "He is not the only one to not get the best vibe from the man. Does not take a dragon to know that."


	3. Stinger

Forrest was more than happy that Carson had decided to do most the storytelling, arguing on her behalf that she had been a bit on morphine herself. That alone allowed for Carson to tell most of the story, well, the parts that they had both agreed to discuss. Of course, this version of events was much more detailed than the one they had shown the others during their meal. The only issue they found constant, was questions.

Not even about the situation but on Castiel and Forrest's bond. Granted, it was something hard to truly grasp by reading about. After many short breaks to explain the concept of drifting and how the relationship worked, they had managed to get through most of their tale. While Carson had done most the talking, telling what all they had gone through while the bald man took his notes and asked his occasional question. Not having to speak allowed had given Forrest plenty of time to discuss the actual tale of events with Castiel, who had shrunk down and now sat on the table in front of her.

*Well, I am glad you had me rather incoherent then.* Castiel's voice rather proud as he cooed softly.

*I guess, as long as you do not go making threats towards him.*

*I have no intention of threatening him Forrest; as I have said in the past I have long approved of him.* She held back expressions, doing her best to focus her eyes on Carson as he spoke, trying hard not to close her eyes and let his voice sing her to sleep again. She could not help but smile softly to herself. *He has you so giddy little one. Never would I imagine threatening someone who makes you this happy.*

She felt his contentment, as he sat curled before her. *While I will talk to him later on the matter, I trust him to keep you safe as I have. Even if it hurts a bit.* She tipped her head slightly, expression worried before she caught herself.

*What do you mean hurts?* She was met with silence, and then a reluctant voice. *I have kept you safe your entire life little one. It pains me to know that I am not the only one to do so anymore. I am slightly jealous, as horrible as I sound saying it. But I knew the day would someday come, I will get over myself. Just promise me something Forrest.*

She was doing her best not to become an emotional mess in front of the people in the room. *What Cas?*

*Always know I loved you first.*

The words cut deep, as she looked at her best friend and softly held the tip of his tail in her hand. She figured, of course, he would choose now, to make her a mess. But as she resisted the urge, she felt Castiel smile lovingly in her head. *Do not become a mess. You have time for that later on.* His humor made her smile again, as she caught Carson's glance. Thankful that at that moment Elizabeth and John had been looking at one another, and Richard at his notepad.

She could see that look of concern; he always had it when she displayed something was amiss. But the look vanished, as he spoke. "That ends us here. We have today off, and will be back in the infirmary tomorrow." The conclusion of the day's events brought Forrest back to the meeting, as Elizabeth nodded her head.

"You two did have quite the time yesterday."

"No kidding, good luck getting me off world again." Carson laughed slightly at Forrest, who smiled.

"I am bad luck."

"No love, if anything I am the back luck on most missions." While she did not openly agree, his stories did back up the statement.

"Well, I was not expecting such a story on my first day here. But thank all of you." Forrest could still feel the unease from the man, who rarely made eye contact with her, and focused solely on Castiel. The dragon lifted his head, looking across the table with a nod before climbing onto Forrest's shoulders again. "While I know today is your day off Dr. Atla, I would very much appreciate it if you would be willing to look over this for me." The tone bugged her, she could even feel a prickle of aggression from the normally placid dragon. But Richard paid no mind to the glances from everyone as he made his request known. He pulled a notepad out of his things and passed it down the way to Forrest.

She took the notepad, looking at the scribbles on the paper. Carson had explained it was called cursive and was a more formal way of writing on Earth. The writing was elegant, and she hoped to learn someday, but she had to learn to read English in a regular format first. He had been kind enough, to start writing medical notes in standard hand, but even then she struggled sometimes.

"I am sorry Richard, but I am still not the most fluent in reading the English language, even more so with cursive. Castiel is fluent himself but still struggles a bit with this style of writing." She explained as she handed the notepad up to Castiel who took it into his paws and began to do his best to read.

"Oh, I was not aware." She could feel the near disappointed tone in his voice, as she glanced over at Carson.

"I can easily help with it. What exactly is it?" Castiel leaned over, handing Carson the paper as he quickly began to read.

"These are questions in regards to the clans. Actually." He read more and flipped a page. "These are questions I think should be asked to Malco." Forrest glanced at Carson, before looking to Richard.

"I can not speak on his behalf, as head of the clans. You will be able to ask him tomorrow." She explained as the man looked at his hands.

"Well, I was hoping you could go over them, I would like to make sure I do not… offend him in any way."

*too late for me* She could hear the growl in the dragon's voice. "Well, in our experience this past week and a half, Malco is very easy to talk to." Elizabeth offering some encouragement.

"He just looks like he will rip your head off, he is probably the easiest to talk to." John adding on, as Forrest offered a small smile.

"You will have to work very hard to offend him, Richard, all of this can wait till tomorrow. When Castiel and I alike have rested more. The clan heads have been looking forward to meeting with you since it was announced." The formality in her voice was unusual, even John caught it as he cast a sideways glance to Elizabeth.

The man fell quiet, as he felt the eyes of everyone on him at once after Forrest had spoken. "of course, Dr. Atla. Though if I may ask a few more questions. I mainly would like to know about the clan heads. Who they are, what they represent. That way I might be better off in meeting them tomorrow."

She understood his curiosity. Elisabeth had explained how many of those on Earth were struggling to wrap their heads around the concept of dragons, and bonded humans. "Well, Malco, as you know, is the head of the clans. He is viewed as their leader. He does answer to the elders, these are some of the oldest dragons of the clans. Sadly, there are only two out of 12 left due to the harshness of Loonrian in recent months."

"But Malco has his council of clan heads. Cazador is head hunter for the clans, in control of all hunting parties, and training of hunters. His mate Papura is head of arts. That may sound strange but she is the one who runs all building operations within the clans, along with the social structure. Castiel here is head of medicine, so he has control over the Mutes of the clans. Then lastly there is Rikarie, she is Malco's second command in their military ranks. So she runs the military dragons when Malco is busy and reports to him." She explained, watching as once again the man before she began to write things down.

*He must forget things easily, he writes down everything.* Castiel's sarcastic comments were growing, and she could tell that the dragon was not enthused by the new face.

In that moment of silence, a roar ripped into the room from outside, a shadow dancing across the windows for a moment as Forrest smiled. She did her best to hold in a laugh, having caught how Richard flinched badly at the call of the dragon. Castiel hopped from her shoulders, growing to his mid-sized form once again to head off in a hurry for the nearest balcony. "Speaking of Rikarie looks like she is paying us a visit." She said as she began to stand. Causing the other to follow suit.

"How do you know it is her? Were you expecting her?"

*So many damn questions.* *I know Cas, calm down.*

"Each dragon has a unique call, just like we humans and our fingerprints. It is how they identify one another. I have been around them enough that I can generally match calls to names. That call you just heard belongs to Rikarie." She explained, noticing that once again Carson had taken his place at her side as they walked onto the balcony. She smiled, as she watched Rikarie circle around the tower once again before starting her approach.

Castiel would always be the most beautiful dragon to ever exist to her, the way his colors bled across his body in elegant swirls was unique as they come. The way his body shined in the sun and his eyes held his emotions. But, Rikarie was a close second to him. The metallic white body of hers caught the sunlight in the same way the city did, glistening with each movement. Her near translucent golden wings were a rare trait amongst dragons, as they glimmered like the water below.

She shrank down as she glided directly towards them, her size matching Castiel as her wings locked and she glided onto the balcony. Her body landed easily, her claws clicking on the metal floor as she came to a stop before them all. Her trilling loud, as Castiel, bounded forward to her and the pair exchanged their affectionate greeting. The dragon's faces pressing to one another in a familiar fashion before Rikarie looked to the others, dipping her head in welcome as her calls filled the air.

"She says she apologizes for her unannounced arrival. Malco has sent her with the most recent progress reports for the clans." Forrest translated, as Rikarie walked forward to Elizabeth, pulling one of the tablets from her bag.

"Thank you Rikarie, please tell Malco to thank you for getting these to us in such a timely matter." Elizabeth taking a hold of the tablet, as the golden dragon dipped her head.

"She is pleased that you are happy with the speed of delivery." Forrest could see the very confused man beside John, eyes focused now on Rikarie, and not on a good part of her. The bald man's eyes locked onto the dark colored scar that ran up the dragoness's forearm and shoulder.

"We sent word to Malco this morning about the meeting for today being moved to tomorrow, with Umbrin I believe was his name did that reach you all?" Elizabeth asking quickly, remembering talking to the other dragon earlier in the morning when he had come to gather some building supplies. The low rumbles and chirps filling the air, as Forrest spoke again.

"Yes, Umbrin did deliver the message, Malco is looking forward to the meeting tomorrow." Forrest paused for a moment, before smirking softly. "Rikarie, this is Richard Woolsey, the man coming to speak to all of us from Earth." Golden eyes turned, looking at him.

"Oh um, hello Rikarie, it is an honor to meet you." Carson glanced down at Forrest, who maintained a slight smirk as the man held out a hand to the dragoness ,this eyes thankfully leaving the scar to look at her face. She tipped her head sideways slightly, looking at his hand before leaning down and sniffing curiously. She lifted her head away before a few small chirps escaped her.

"She is pleased to meet you, she will tell the others in the clans of your arrival." He awkwardly put his hand back down, unaware that not all dragons held human customs. * She says she does not like his smell, bad vibe to her.* *I know but I am not translating it.*

There was silence, as John bit his lip watching the Stinger interact with Woolsey. He had come to understand the female was not the most trusting, and as far as he could tell the only people on base, she trusted were Forrest, Carson, himself, and Elizabeth. No one else had earned the dragon's respect. As far as he could tell, Woolsey would not be doing that any time soon. Plus, he had seen Woolsey's focus on the scar, and he knew it was a touchy subject.

"She hopes you all have a good evening, and she will see us all tomorrow."

"Thank you Rikarie, have a safe flight home." Elizabeth smiled, as Rikarie affectionately pressed her nose to Elizabeth's cheek, and went down the line of people. Everyone holding back remarks as she skipped over Woolsey, and tilled to Castiel. *She says he has to earn a dragon's affection.*

Forrest smiled before Rikarie bounded over the balcony rail, and her body grew once again. Her voice calling out over the towers as she took her heading home. Woolsey looked at his feet, glancing over at the others as he tried to figure out why he had not been given the same farewell.

"She is nervous of new people, Stingers tend to be a bit finicky about who they associate with." Forrest offering a somewhat decent explanation.

"Oh, I see."

John cast a glance to Carson, all of them standing for a moment. "Well, with that I think you all can get back to your day off." Castiel shrinking before hopping onto Carson's shoulders.

"That sounds lovely." Forrest smiling, catching the curious look that John was giving them both.

As they all turned to walk back inside, a familiar voice called into Elizabeth's ear. "Dr. Weir, have you seen Forrest or Doctor Beckett? Castiel even?" She paused, Castiel quickly turning to look at her.

*Teyla is looking for us.* Forrest stopped, looking to the dragon on Carson's shoulders then to Elizabeth.

"Yes, Teyla they are all here in the meeting room with me."

"Would you have them come down to the infirmary? I believe we may have a bit of a problem on our hands."

*Teyla says there is a problem and we should go to the infirmary.*

"I will send them down." She looked up, able to already see Forrest's face. She had a feeling someone else had heard that radio conversation.

"Well, both of you have been requested in the infirmary, so much for a day off." While she normally would have made sure that the other doctors had been the ones to answer, she had learned to not question Teyla's judgment on matters.

"We understand." Carson commenting, as he turned to head for the door.

"Well, have a good evening Richard." Forrest offering a farewell, as she turned to walk quickly after Carson. "No such thing as a day off here is there?" She asked as she matched his stride.

"Never, what do you two think of him?" He had been dying to know of the pair's conversation, as they walked down the gateroom stairs.

"Well, Castiel does not like him, not sure myself yet. But if he calls me Doctor Atla one more time I may snap a bit at him."

Carson found himself laughing, "Well, you said it yourself Dragons are good judges of character."

"Oh yes, they are, Rikarie is unsure of him as well." She explained as Castiel hopped from his shoulders to hers.

"Well, hopefully, you will only have to deal with him a few more days." He said as they neared the infirmary. "And that whatever is happening down here will be a quick fix."

* * *

Having watched the three doctors walk out of the control room, Elizabeth and John alike exchanged glances as Woolsey took a seat at the conference room table. "What kind of reports did.. she bring?" He asked looking at the tablet in Elizabeth's hands.

"Oh, I had requested yesterday for reports on the current progress in construction of the clan homes, and how everyone is settling in." She explained as she handed him the tablet. "That way you would have the most current progress on things once you got here."

"Thank you for that." John looked at Elizabeth, she knew the look. He was itching to get away from the room, and the person whose questions never stopped. But she shot down the look with one of her own, he was not going to leave her alone for this one. "So what all are they building?" He asked as he did his best to read the report. "And who did this report?"

"I believe Papura does the reports, she has learned to type in English pretty well in the past week. The location of their settlement is a very large forest. Like the redwoods on Earth only much bigger." He glanced up from his reading, watching as John and Elizabeth sat down across from him.

"Really? That is interesting." They never understood his tone, as she continued to speak.

"Forrest had explained earlier this week they were planning to make large tree houses. The trees are large enough to support the largest of dragons, so they will be making their homes there. It is right next to a large fresh water lake, so they are able to easily fish and hunt the surrounded mountains."

"So they are pretty industrial? The dragons." John was the one to speak up this time.

"They are all pretty smart, I can say that Castiel puts some of our own doctors to shame. They will set themselves up to be able to live on their own. But, Malco has already sent a few of his more experienced Destroyers and Stingers to start working with my men military wise. Castiel said that once the clan's health has improved, Mutes will start coming here for more training."

They watched as Woolsey remained quiet, nodding his head. "Destroyers, Stingers, Mutes, I have heard of them in reports but I am still unsure of what they are."

"Destroyers and Stingers are military-bred, Stingers are more meant for speed and stealth, often used as messengers. Destroyers are the main combat breed. Then Mutes are their medical dragons. There are apparently a few more sub-breeds but we are still learning them." John continuing the explanation, but could tell the man had other ideas.

"Well, seeing as now that Forrest is still struggling with reading and writing in English, how has translating the Loonrian archives been going?"

They should have known it would come back to this, "Well, Forrest and Castiel alike have been working best they can to translate, but this past week has been rather hard on them both. Once the clans are much more settled she will be able to focus on the records fully." Elizabeth was unsure of where the conversation was going, as she folded her hands on the desk.

"Well, right now I am concerned that someone who can not read English fluently is working in the infirmary."

John raised an eye brow. "What you think she will accidentally OD someone on something?"

"No, but she could mix up medications, or her notes be incorrect causing issues. Besides, someone who does not wish to be called a doctor in formal conversation seems a bit strange."

Elizabeth's face went cold, as she caught the scent of the issue. "Castiel is often side by side with Forrest. He was fluent in English within the first week and a half they were here. Even without Castiel Doctor Beckett also helps her learn. You have seen the reports, what all Forrest has accomplished in her time here. She is just as able of a doctor as the others in the infirmary. As for her title, I will get the some of the data that has been translated, some of it will explain Loonrian social customs and manners. She explained it to you, how titles are used. Any other time you use her title it is an insult, so I suggest you do your best to call her by her first name."

John had been the one to stay quiet, able to feel the fire in her words as she defended Forrest. "If you have any other issues, Mr. Woolsey, now would be the time to express them.


	4. Crawling

Crawling

By the time they all had gotten down to the infirmary, the amount of people that surrounded Teyla had doubled from 15 to close to 30. All ranging from mild cold-like symptoms to fevers strong enough to drop the infected marines to their knees. She had done as Castiel requested, but even with the medications and rest she had found herself much worse than she had been in the hours prior. When she had walked back into the infirmary, there were others like her, and the on-duty nurses and doctors were struggling to get everything figured out and situated.

None of them wished to call Doctor Beckett, or Forrest from their day off, so Teyla had taken it upon herself to make that call. She had watched them walk into the chaos, and calmly start to work. She had to admit, her first thought when they walked in was how John's bet against Evan had played out. She had yet to hear of the results. Yet, she could not help but smile as the pair quickly began to work. She watched how Forrest worked in complete silence with Castiel, but also Carson all the same time. A few words spoken between them every now and then, but for the most part they did not need to.

"So when did you start to feel sick Teyla?" Carson was standing next to her bed, able to see how now the fever had taken a stronger hold. Castiel had told him of her results that morning, and it was easy enough to see she was getting worse.

"Sometime last night, I was not really able to sleep well. I woke up early this morning feeling feverish and came down here." She explained, watching as he looked at the tablet in his hands. His attire was as it normally would be, a white lab coat now covering his shoulders and a radio in his ear.

"Well, it does seem to be a flu-like virus now, and by the looks, it is spreading quickly." He explained with a soft smile. "This really should not be life-threatening, just keep resting and let me know if you get worse."

"Thank you, Carson." She felt horrible, her body now joining her head in aching. But she knew if anything, she was in the most capable hands.

Leaving her to rest, Carson turned and walked along the now filling beds, able to see Forrest heading towards him with a tablet in her hands. He could already see it, that she was tried. Her long week and a half looked like it would be turning into two, and with no noticeable end in sight. Sure, they could probably get everyone settled in here and be able to leave, but with the way things worked in this galaxy, it was never that simple.

Castiel jogged past him, heading towards the door as another person walked inside, adding to the ever-growing number of people inside. "You okay love?" He stopped as he stood in front of her, watching as he eyes went from the tablet to his.

"I think I have tracked down our patient zero." She said with a light smile ignoring his question she turned with a motion to follow. It did not take much to convince him to follow after.

"Staff Sargent Jacob Thomas. He seems to be the worse off." She explained as she led him deeper into the infirmary. "Apparently, he came in last night before we even got home with the start of his symptoms." He followed her around the corner, to a bed set apart from the others. Carson slightly frustrated that he had not been told about this the evening prior.

"He is probably what the others have to look forward to." She stopped, standing at the foot of the bed as the blonde marine puked into a bucket that had been provided. Carson quick to notice nothing but bile was coming up as he glanced down to Forrest. "Other than the obvious, how are you feeling Jacob." Her tone gentle as she walked over to where he sat on the edge of the bed, holding the bucket between his knees as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I've been better." The kid whipping his mouth with the sleeve of his scrubs.

"Well, hopefully, this won't take too long to run its course." She said with a reassuring smile, glancing over at Carson.

"Have you eaten anything different Staff Sargent?" Carson taking over, as he looked at the tablet in his hands.

"No Sir, nothing other than what they normally cook here." He said, as Forrest took the bucket from his hands and set it down on the floor next to the bed. Both doctors watching as the young man leaned back down onto the medical bed.

"When exactly did you start to feel off?"

"Probably around six last night. Just not really right but figured I would sleep it off. I started puking around five this morning." Carson nodding as he listened while reading the results on the tablet.

"He has a temp of 102?" He looked to Forrest who nodded,

"As of 15 minutes ago he did." Carson moved to the other side of the bed, walking to the monitors closer to the head of the bed,

"You sure? He is reading at 103.4" Forrest tipped her head, walking to look at the monitor at his side.

"I took the reading myself, that was what he was at." She said as she took the tablet from his hands, looking over her own notes again. Before she could say anything, the temp monitor ticked up to 103.7. They were quiet for a moment, before Forrest spoke. "You don't think their temps are rising that fast do you?"

"Aye, they might be, and if they are this could be a wee bit of a problem."

"What all can we start him on? We need to keep his fever down." She said, spinning around to head for a medicine cabinet.

"There should be Tylenol in there, I would give him a bit more than a normal dose." He called after her, as he began to walk away from the marine's bed.

He walked around the corner, towards the front of the infirmary. Watching as Evan Lorne walked in with a young scientist in his arms, setting down on a medical bed that Castiel had pushed over to them. Carson able to recognize the young girl as one of the newest members of the botany department. Castiel quickly whisking her away deeper into the infirmary to get her settled. The dragon had pretty much taken over getting anyone that came in situated, allowing the other nurses and doctors to focus on getting readings and medications set up. He was stronger and able to move the beds around on his own.

"Doc, people everywhere are getting sick. I found Sierra there puking over a balcony on the West Pier." He explained as he stood next to Carson.

"I know son, sounds like this is hitting everyone like a bus." He sighed, just what they needed was a flu pandemic. "Start having the mess hall set up for us if you would. I have a feeling everyone is going to have to bed down and wait for this one to run its course." So far, between Forrest and himself they had found no reason to worry too much. Dehydration was more of a concern with this kind of virus than anything else.

"Will do Doc." The Major turned to walk out, before Carson called out,

"If you start to feel ill, sit down and rest don't go trying to push through it. Tell everyone that." Evan turned, nodding his head before heading out of the doors.

"Carson!" he was able to hear her call over the now rather loud infirmary. She was standing by the door to his office, tablet in hand once more. He was quick to get to her, watching as she frowned. "Jacob's fever is not the only one climbing fast. A few of the others are showing temps increasing at a high rate. I started them all on the Tylenol. They are all probably the first to be infected yesterday." She explained as she watched Castiel move around bed to bed.

*How are they all sounding?* Carson caught that she was asking the dragons something, as he spoke. "Well, as long as no one starts to go over 105 we should be good."

*considering the fever most of these people are running, their heart rates are staying steady.* *let me know if anything changes, thank you*

She looked to Carson, "Cas finds it strange, heart rates are staying steady despite the fever." Carson was starting to find the entire outbreak confusing, as he rubbed his head. "Wouldn't the city's quarantine systems have caught this?" She asked as she looked up to him, able to catch that little bit of worry and confusion in his eyes.

"We don't have it set up for something this well, mild. The flu on Earth is generally not lethal, only to those who don't seek any help, the young and old. Most of these people will be fine in a few days. Though the rising body temps are a wee bit concerning." She listened to his explanation, before speaking.

"Well, I would guess then that Loonrian antivirals may not be a bad idea?" He stood for a moment and smiled. "I honestly forgot about that love. If you want to go ahead and start a few of the ones worst off. I am going to go let Elizabeth and the others know. I am sure this is going to run its course over the entire city."

She smiled warmly, "I will get them started, should hopefully get them over this sooner." They were still for a moment, as they just stood to enjoy the close proximity to one another. "I'll see you when you get back."

Carson had started to wonder why there had to be so many damn stairs in a place so advanced. He was up and down the damn things more than anything else, as he walked up and into the control room. Catching the glances of overs as he walked for Elizabeth's office. Able to see that Colonel Sheppard had disappeared, leaving Elizabeth with Mr. Woolsey. He walked inside, holding the tablet Forrest had been using in his hands.

"Hope I am not interrupting anything." He said as Elizabeth smiled, shaking her head.

"Not at all Carson, is everything okay down there?" He could see it, something about how she held herself was off, and not in a good way.

"Well, looks like we have a flu running its course on everyone. Forrest and I have determined it has probably spread through most the population. While I am not worried about anyone kneeling over, it's not going to be a fun few days for everyone."

Elizabeth nodded, "well, better off than I expected."

"No kidding, Forrest is going to start those with the worst symptoms on some Loonrian antivirals. If those prove to be pretty effective we should be able to speed up things. Get everyone over this in a day or two."

Elizabeth smiled, "Good to hear, we have seen that medicine at work before, I doubt it will fail us now."

"How long have you been using Loonrian medicines here in Atlantis?" Woolsey had been quiet on the matter, but of course, him joining in was a question.

"We have been using a few of them since Forrest was able to recreate them. The antivirals and antibiotics were the first she got done for us. Within two weeks of her arrival, we were able to start using them. It says so in our reports." He explained, watching as Woolsey took down notes again, causing him to glance to Elizabeth with a concerned expression, that she hardly offered any assurance to.

"You also left her down there to administer the medications unsupervised?" That question made his blood boil slightly, as Carson's tone changed to a slightly defensive one. "Aye, I did. Why would that be any concern to you?" Elizabeth looked at Carson, watching as Woolsey looked up from his notes to the doctor.

"Well, considering she has no licensing or qualifications by Earth's standards, it is a bit concerning that you leave her unsupervised."

"Forrest is a damn good doctor, be it by our standards or Loonrians. I have seen her work, I know what she can do. I am the one who decided she was safe to work in my infirmary. If you have such a problem with it, come down see for yourself."

Elizabeth was the one taken back by the normally even-tempered doctor. He was not one to take insults, but defending others was hit and miss. She was about to say something, but he continued. "Actually, we will probably be seeing you in the next few hours when this virus starts to run its course on you. You can watch then. I have to get back down there, just radio me if you need anything Elizabeth." His tone calmed slightly as he bid his farewell to her, before turning and somewhat stormed out of her office.

Leaving Elizabeth with a rather impressed expression. "Well, I had been hoping he would be the calmest about those concerns. I now realize he was worse than you and Colonel Sheppard."

Elizabeth sighed, "I don't blame him. Forrest has helped him with quite a few breakthroughs on the gene therapies he has been working on. They are quite good friends." After that outburst from him, however, she had a feeling friends may need to be used in past tense.

"I see, well my concerns still stand. I feel she should not have been allowed to work so freely in the infirmary. She has access to a lot of sensitive information."

"That she has no use or need for. Forrest and Castiel alike do not wish any harm to anyone here. Like Carson said, go down there and watch them work." She was growing ever aggravated by Woolsey's doubt but understood that it was what the man had been sent here to do. "So, does everyone back home have these same concerns?"

He looked up, leaning back in the chair across from her. "Some do, some don't. Collectively they are all focused on the dragons. Wondering what kind of, military use they could have." It always came back to that, how could something be used in war.

"Malco has said, that those who can fight would fight for me. Not necessarily all of Earth if taken there. But here in Pegasus, I know they have our backs."

"Do you think that could change?"

"You are asking the wrong person. You can ask Malco that tomorrow, that is if you are not sick with what is going around." She commented, watching as he seemed to squirm. "Are you nervous about talking to the clan heads?" She raised an eyebrow, not used to seeing him behave this way.

"Well, most of the the..aliens, I have worked with have been more human. I find them a bit more intimidating than most."

"Well, if you want to make a good first impression, my advice would be to make sure you call everyone present by their first name." He sighed, shaking his head slightly.

"That is a hard habit to break you know?"

"I know, I would start now if I were you."

* * *

Carson had done his best to calm himself on his way back to the infirmary, but he still felt the pricks of anger in his mind as he walked into the familiar chaos. Those people had no idea what Forrest could do, they had yet to see her work. Listen to what she knew or understood. Rarely did Carson view others at the same level as himself, but she was that exception. All the people in his command were gifted in their fields, he had handpicked them after all. But Forrest had fallen into his infirmary and proven herself an equal. There were things one knew and the other didn't, they balanced one another out.

He shook his head, a slight feeling of fear creeping up on him. He should not have let his anger get the better of him, he could have just sealed her fate. The last thing he wanted was for her to lose her position here with his staff. He looked up, able to pick out her small frame as it once again hurried towards him. Her braided hair now pulled and wrapped into a tight bun on the top of her head. He had only ever seen her hair like that once before, and it was the day he had opened his eyes to her concerned face in the dimly lit room she had called home. He smiled, thinking of those first few moments of seeing her. She was much different now, able to take care of herself better here than she had been on Loonrian, her hair no longer holding dust constantly, and her clothes always clean.

His smile held, but it was not returned as she quickly walked up to him, taking a hold of his hand to pull him deeper into the infirmary "What is it, love?" He asked, as he quickly matched her stride, following closely.

"We have a new symptom starting to show." She explained as she rounded corners, Carson quickly realizing that she was heading for Jacob. "He said it started half an hour ago, but he didn't think much of it. It's worse now, and a few others are starting to show it." She said as she stopped looking at the young marine on the bed. "Okay, tell Carson what you told me." Something about her tone was off, as she looked down at the tablet in her hands.

"Well, like I said I really didn't think much of it till now." Carson noticed something right off, the young man had what looked like claw marks along one of his arms and was mindlessly itching a spot on his wrist.

"I just feel all itchy over. It was hardly anything half an hour ago but now it feels like things are running under my skin." That was a new one, even for Carson as he glanced up to the monitors.

"His fever has gone up to 104.5, did you give him the medication?" He turned looking down to Forrest who nodded,

"Yes, and he is now on the antivirals, waiting now to see how much they help. We will probably know within half an hour."

Carson looked at the kid on the bed, "Well, Forrest has probably told you this much, but try not to itch at yourself. The last thing we need is for you to cause open wounds." Jacob quickly putting his hands in his lap, with a sigh.

"I'll do my best." He said as Carson nodded his head.

"Few other things I have found, while you were gone." She started as he turned, moving away from the bed to head for his office. "I think it is safe to say, this may not be just an Earth flu virus." She said as she turned to look up to him.

"Other than the newest symptom what makes ya say that?"

"Teyla; whatever this is it is working much slower on her. The fever is not climbing near as fast, and she so far has no other signs." Forrest explained as she took a deep breath. "So it is not from your world, I would say at a minimum it is from Pegasus." He sighed, looking at her for a moment, wondering how anyone could question her ability in this field.

"Well, I guess we have to wait and see how they all respond to the antivirals."

"Yes, we do." She trailed off, able to see a different look in his eyes. "What did Elizabeth and Richard have to say?" It took him off guard a bit, her referring to the man by his first name. But he sighed,

"Elizabeth was a bit relieved that it was something minor, well was when I reported it to her. Mr. Woolsey had his questions as always." There was more to it, she knew he was not saying something as she looked over to where Castiel had rushed past, knowing he was heading to the mess hall to check on those setting it up for others.

"What else did he say, Carson?" How she could catch when he was holding back, he had no idea, but he sighed. "I guess he was a wee bit concerned that I had left you unattended down here. I set that straight."

She rolled her eyes, "Of course he did, well, if he catches this crap I can work to change his mind."

He laughed, "Funny thing is I told him the same thing."


	5. Split Second Differences

"They are not working, at all." Her tone was utterly flat, as she stood with Carson in his office, the door closed as the two both attempted to get even a slight moment of quiet, but even with the door closed, they could hear the chaos that their sanctuary had been demoted to.

"So they have changed nothing?"

"The only thing I can say is it maybe slowed the fever down slightly in the past hour, but not enough to get people over this sooner." She leaned against his desk, her hands shifted back as she took a deep breath. "Castiel said his last counts are at around 80. Evan and Ronon just took up beds in the mess hall." She explained, as Carson rubbed his eyes, they both were not ready for this level of pandemic.

"So that rules out that it is Loonrian, I guess. But they should have had more of an effect, I will start to dig into our databases maybe there are more things I could try to mix up to help." He looked down at her, seeing the exhaustion in her eyes. She was back to where she was yesterday, drained and doing her best to fight against it.

"How are you feeling?" His focus suddenly on her, as he instinctively reached out, pressing his hand to her head. She didn't answer, but she leaned into the warmth of his hand. Enjoying the touch, before opening her eyes to his concerned ones.

"I'm fine Carson, other than tired I don't feel sick." He kept his hand against her face, she didn't feel feverish as he held her. "Aye, promise me if you do you will tell me? Don't try and hide it from me to keep helping." His voice held the demand, as she nodded.

"Only if you promise me the same?" He smiled, they both agreed to the other's demands in silence.

"Let's go check over everyone, run a few tests on Teyla. She still holding out?" He held the door for her as they walked out into the madness that was the infirmary.

"Yes, her fever has risen up to 103, but she has not started the itching feeling." Forrest explaining as they both walked over to where Teyla was asleep. She had managed somehow to fall asleep, considering how loud the entire place was they had been forced to sedate those who longed for rest. They had started to pull blankets from everyone, attempting to slow the rising fever inside. They stopped at the foot of the bed, looking at the vitals of the sleeping Athosian.

"John has been by a few times to check on her, he was not too happy she was asleep. I had to explain she needed all the rest she could get." Forrest commenting, as she looked up to see Castiel moving back into the infirmary with an empty cart. He had been running supplies to and from the mess hall and infirmary, all while helping those who asked.

*How are you doing Cas?* He really should be resting off his injuries, but Forrest knew she could only sway him so much.

*I am okay little one, I got much more rest yesterday than you did.* He bounded past them, heading for the supply closets without a glance to them.

*we will be going to give Elizabeth and Richard an update soon, would you be able to stay here and keep an eye on everyone? We do have the worst off here, and you can tell me something is wrong quicker than anyone else.* The dragon looked over to them, Carson knowing full well the pair were talking.

*of course, just let me know when you are leaving and I will run back up here.* There was no need to say anything else, as Carson watched the dragon start loading things onto the cart.

"He will come back here and keep an eye on those worse off when we head up to the control room. That way if anything drastic happens, he can tell me faster than a radio."

"Good, it makes things much easier." He explained as he took the tablet from the bed, ready to go over the most recent readings. "You know, I will say I am jealous of that. Would make my life much easier to just be able to send a thought to someone else. Those seconds could be the difference between life and death." She smiled, as she turned to follow him.

"That is why you have us in here, trust me it is not all happy conversations and fun." She had found that when he was stressed he tended to move, drifting from one place to another with whatever he was doing. His way of fidgeting as he worked. She was more the kind to sit in one place and focus down on what she was doing, but she did her best to keep up with him. Seeing as he could navigate the rooms and halls of his infirmary without even looking up.

"How is Jacob?" He asked, as Forrest took the lead heading for the bed that the young marine lay on.

"Not the best sadly." She rounded the corner, Carson looking past the curtain with a grimace. He had been bouncing between the mess hall and here himself and had left Forrest in charge of the more advanced cases. On the bed, the kid was drifting in and out, the monitor reading a temp of 105. His arms and legs twitching constantly; while not violent they were enough to be easily noticed. He could see raw marks on open skin where the man had been itching at his arms. But now, his hands were tightly wrapped in bandages, in an attempt to keep him from itching.

"I tried to sedate him, but even with a higher dose he drifts in and out. He has not been aware enough to say much to me. Last he spoke with a clear mind he said it even felt like his eyelids were crawling. A few others have stated this as well. I dare not give him anymore, but his fever has stalled a bit. I have had the nurses just keep ice bags along his body. I don't want to risk chilling him with how his body is reacting."

He could hear her worry, as they looked at the kid on the bed. He couldn't have been older than 22. "You're doing good with him." His tone was soft, as he looked down at her, watching as she sighed.

"The first and last time I worked with this many people was when I was trying to treat those hurt in the attack. I would much rather deal with wounds than disease… I can stitch someone back up, stop bleeding, mend bones without much thought. Sickness, much harder to deal with." Carson had understood, she had not had to deal with much when it came to disease on Loonrian. But she was doing well, given the situation.

"I trust your judgment on the matter, remember that." He placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up again. "And if Mr. Woolsey wants to toss a fit over that, he will have to bring it up with me."

"And Cas, he really is waiting for a reason to push him down the gateroom stairs." He laughed, as he turned, leading her away from Jacob as one of the nurses walked in to replace the icepacks.

"Oh, I expected a much more subtle approach from him."

"Not this time, he wants to make sure everyone else gets to watch, and see him do it." She paused, knowing full well the dragon's threats were not empty.

Within half an hour, having made their own preparations and Castiel returned to the ward, they were walking up to the gate room. Quarantines were useless at that point in time, seeing as so many had fallen ill at such a high rate, everyone probably was infected or at least carrying the virus. Forrest had not realized how much her head actually hurt, till they were both no longer surrounded by constant noise.

The hallways rather empty, as they walked up the stairs to the control room. A few people sitting at their posts as they walked past, Chuck offering them both a warm smile. Forrest returned it, finding herself enjoying the friendliness of the entire base more and more. Even in shit situations, everyone was kind to one another. Loonrians in this predicament would have been in every one for themselves mode.

She stuck close to Carson, finding that being once again in the room with Woolsey making her uneasy. Without Castiel, she found she lost much of her boldness. Having him as back up made for bold statements and actions, seeing as she had him for support. Yet, now she knew she did have one more person in her corner, and that he would probably be just as ready to jump at someone's throat as the dragon. She could see that John had found himself in the office again, maybe Elizabeth had requested back up once again. But to her own shock, Rodney was also sitting in one of her chairs.

"I wondered where he had hidden away," Carson muttering, as he looked down at Forrest. "He is normally the first one to check himself into the infirmary." She laughed,

"Cas probably told him he was fine and to find somewhere else to whine." Both doctors had come to the agreement that Castiel did not put up with Rodney's bullshit. In fact, they both had known that within the first week of them living here.

He opened the door for her, letting her walk inside to the curious but worried eyes of the people inside. "Since your normal delivery guy is a bit busy." It was John who walked forward, holding a cup of hot coffee in each hand. Handing one to Forrest and then the last to Carson. She was not the biggest fan of the dark drink, but Castiel knew how she had come to enjoy hers. But at that moment in time, even bitter and black it was a welcome smell and taste.

"Thank you, John." He offered a reassuring smile, before leaning against one of the open chairs. The two were holding up well, considering the situation and their condition.

"So where are we at with things? I understand that Jacob is not doing the best?" Elizabeth had managed to get an update on the radio from Carson earlier, but even then she wanted details filled in.

"In general, where are we at with things? Have you all made any progress on speeding this up?" Woolsey's eyes focused once again on Forrest alone. She glanced over to Carson, who had managed to down the entire mug in a matter of seconds.

"Well, as of now we are leaning away from it being of Earth origin, along with it being a basic flu virus like we first thought." Carson explaining, as the room stayed silent for a moment, Forrest taking a chance to speak.

"When Carson returned from his last report to you, Jacob had started to show a new symptom along with a few other people shortly after. He explained that his entire body felt itchy, and it has been getting worse. Last time he was coherent enough for me to talk to him he said even his eyelids felt like something was crawling across them. Since then, even trying to sedate him has proven to not be all that effective. I will say close to 25 people are now showing this." She watched Rodney, who seemed to instinctively reach up and scratch his arm, but for once staying quiet on the matter.

"Jacob's fever has stalled out, holding at 105. This is still rather high but right now if it is holding we will take what we can get." She had hardly had a chance to finish when Woolsey spoke up.

"Do we know if this disease is fatal?" Both doctors exchanged glances before Carson answered.

"Right now if anyone's fever goes over 105, we may have issues. Not necessarily life-threatening, but brain damage is a risk." Rodney looked at the others,

"So how contagious is this?" Forrest now noticing how the scientist had kept his distance from them.

"We guess it is spread like the common flu, odds are you all have picked it up and just are not showing any signs yet." Carson encouraging as Rodney once again was quiet.

"I thought maybe I had started to get a fever, but Castiel did not let me even in the infirmary, he stopped me in the hall and told me I was fine for now." She held back a comment, seeing as the scientist and dragon had an interaction just as they figured.

"Staff Sargent Thomas has been on the mainland quite a bit hasn't he?" Woolsey looking up curiously from his reading, causing John to shift his weight from one leg to another.

"Yes he has, his entire unit has been helping the dragons with construction." He reported as Elizabeth looked between the two.

"Have any other members of this unit fallen ill?" Forrest quickly realized where the bald man was going with his questions, and she spoke up.

"Richard I can assure you that this illness is not Loonrian in origin. If it were my antivirals would have shown improvement. While there are known viruses that can transfer between dragons and humans, none of them match the symptoms you are seeing."

Elizabeth caught the tone, Forrest was slightly defensive over the accusation that she had sensed. But Woolsey only shook his head. "It has been many years if I am correct since dragons and humans interacted on this scale. Could the viruses have mutated beyond your medicine's abilities?" Before she could even speak, Carson pushed his way into the conversation.

"If that were the case the medications would have altered to combat it. Loonrian medicine by design was meant to be able to adapt to changes. That is why there are only a handful of different types. On Earth we have hundreds of different drugs for every ailment under the sun, we have to do the matching. Loonrian medicine does it for us."

Forrest had a feeling he had explained it to ensure she did not snap at the man, how someone could fuel such an anger in her, she would never understand. But somehow Woolsey nodded his understanding, looking to Elizabeth. "We have gotten in contact with the Athosians, and so far it sounds like no one has started to fall ill. We told them if anyone does that they need to get in contact with us."

Carson smiled, "Perfect." It was Forrest who looked to John and Rodney and then spoke.

"If I may ask a favor of you both?" They looked at her, waiting to hear her request. "I would like it if you were able to head to the clans. Talk to Malco and explain what has happened. See if he can have a few of his Mutes come to help us. The ones who were not muted would be best."

She was cut off by Woolsey, "How are they Mutes but not muted?" Carson could see the frustration in her eyes.

"When the lower class uprisings started, many did not have time to undergo the surgery. They also chose this so that they might be able to interact better with the massive amount of people in hospitals. They are younger, most of the mutes who still have their voice are under the age of 15. But John, if you both could go out there and see if a few could help us it would be much appreciated. Castiel can do the work of five nurses, a few more would make things much easier."

"We are leaving now." John did not wait for anyone else to speak or even approve of the order, he made his run for the office door with Rodney close behind him.

Elizabeth watched the two nearly run out of the gate room, quickly realizing that Woolsey's eyes were on her, and had a very skeptical look. "Speaking of Castiel, where is he?" He turned the look to Carson and Forrest, who both looked about ready to rake off running the same way John and Rodney had.

"He is currently keeping an eye on those who are worst off." So many damn questions, she was about ready to yell at the man to pay attention to other parts of the conversation, not just what he wanted to hear.

"Why is that?" Carson could feel how frustrated Forrest was becoming with each passing second. "The reason being is that Castiel can tell me the instant something happens. I can just about know it as it happens before him. It would be faster than anyone using a radio to get a hold of me here."

"How far is the range of communication between you two?" Elizabeth looked at Carson, who visibly swallowed as he glanced down to Forrest.

"Mr. Woolsey, as much as I enjoy teaching your people about mine, and the dragons, my time is better spent making sure no one dies from whatever is spreading like fire across this city. Now if you would excuse-"

*Forrest we have a problem.* She could feel Castiel's panic run rampant in her head, as she as cut off causing the entire room to sit in silence.

*What is it?*

*It is Jacob, you need to both get down here now!* She rarely heard her partner get demanding as he was right then.

"Forrest, what is it?" Carson had already figured that the dragon had made contact, rarely did anything cause her to stop mid-sentence.

"We have to go now." She did not wait, instead, she turned on her heels and took off for the door. Elizabeth was the first to stand, without a word she watched a bewildered Carson attempt to go after her.

"Coming?" She looked at Woolsey, who was still rather shocked by the words the silver-haired girl spoke. "oh of course."

The sounds coming from the infirmary were enough to tell Carson something was very much wrong, as he worked his way around people who had started to gather. He had just lost sight of Forrest's head, that had dipped below his viewpoint.

"Everyone out of the bloody way!" He rarely raised his voice like that, and quickly people were quiet, the wall of bodies parted out of his way. Behind him, Elizabeth and Woolsey had managed to get past the doorway, doing their best to wade around the nurses and patients that had gathered around.

"Okay Cas, start talking." Carson caught her words, as he finally found himself able to see the scene before him. Castiel had Jacob pinned to the infirmary floor, large paws holding the kid by the upper arm as the dragon's chest pressed against the marine's ribs. One of Castiel's hind paws had a hold of Jacob's lower leg, and strangely his tail was wrapped tightly around his calf, Carson was barely able to make out what looked like a white towel under the animal's tail. Jacob was struggling hard against the dragon's hold, his entire body seemed to tremble and move no matter what the dragon did to restrain him as he muttered and yelped nonsense to the room.

He stood for a moment, in a great amount of shock from events taking place before him much as his nurses were. He brought himself back to the moment and dropped to the floor next to Forrest who was doing her best to figure out what was happening from the dragon, who happened to be the calmest about the entire situation.

"What happened to him?" Carson asking, able to glance back and see that Woolsey and Elizabeth were both now behind them watching with the other nurses.

"Castiel said that he was checking on a few others when he heard a strange noise. Sounded like scraping and someone whimpering. He ran over here and found Jacob unhooked from all the monitors… and using a scalpel to attempt to skin his lower leg." She looked up to Carson, whose face had managed to lose a bit of color as he looked down at where the dragon must be holding the wound.

"He lost it the instant Cas tried to get the scalpel from him. He says he leaped out of the bed and tried to run off. He managed to get him held down but his body will not stop moving." Everyone had been listening in, as Castiel looked to Forrest.

*If I could talk to him I would.*

*I know Cas you are doing all you can*.

She leaned forward, able to see the wide terror-filled eyes of the marine on the floor. "Jacob, its Forrest. I need you to calm down." Her tone was almost motherly as she focused on the man. "We are here to help you know this, Cas only has a hold of you to make sure you don't hurt yourself"

"Everything.. anything all of it! It's under my skin and I want it out!" His words were not spoken, they were wailed as his body involuntarily squirmed under the dragon. She took a deep breath, and Carson watched as she moved down to where Castiel's tail held the wound tight. But with ease the dragon let go of the leg, using his tail to hold another section steady for his partner.

Carson felt rather helpless, as he watched the pair work. They did not need to speak to one another aloud, all of it was done in the mind. They knew what the other wanted before anyone else."What is happening? Why are you all so quiet?"

Carson spun around on the floor, his eyes locking onto Woolsey who was getting an equally as angry glare from Elizabeth. "If you would shut the hell up for more than ten minutes you might learn something." His tone was flat, but his voice louder than normal causing a few nurses to shift slowly back. Knowing full well that you had to have really messed up to bring about a reaction like that.

"Carson grab me some more bandages.. and a stunner." He spun around, looking to Forrest who did not even look up from the wound. He moved over to look over her shoulder and closed his eyes at the sight of the wound. The kid had managed to take flesh and skin off the entire top part of his shin. The bone showed the blood as it dripped onto the floor below. "We can't sedate him, I have already tried to give him as much as possible. A stunner might be enough to keep him down, then we cou-" She stopped mid-sentence again, only this time it was because her eyes locked onto the monitors that had once been hooked up to Jacob. "Scratch that, we need a tub of ice right now!"

The urgency in her voice changed, as Carson finally looked at the monitor. The last reading of body temp on the kid read 109.6, and that reading was nearly 15 minutes ago. "You all heard her!" He spun around, looking at the nurses who quickly were sent scurrying around the infirmary to gather what Forest had demanded.

"Cas get him ready to lift, we will have to keep that leg out of the water and try to keep the bleeding down till we can get him stitched. Right now we need his temp down." She could only assume that it was either still that high or had gotten higher as the marine struggled.

But in an instant, something changed. The sounds started to come as gurgles and grunts and his body started to go more ridged against Castiel's paws. The dragon spun his head around. *He is starting to seize, and his heart rate is spiking!* The dragon quickly wrapping his tail around Jacob's ankles, leaving the dragon's hind legs free to move.

Carson did not need to hear what the dragon said, he had already figured it out watching how the man's body reacted and moved. He did not even remember barking the orders at the remaining nurses or seeing Elizabeth put her hand to her mouth as she watched the events unfold before her. The nurses were starting to haul things in when Castiel's head shot up.

*his heart just stopped* Under him, Jacob's body went still. The dragon quickly letting go looking to Forrest and Carson who were starting to prep the crash cart. But he knew, right then something was not right with how things were playing out. He ignored Forrest's order to get away, the dragon sniffing the body curiously. His nose landed on the kid's head. He smelled it instantly, the blood deep inside the body where it should not be.

He looked up, seeing Carson grabbing for paddles. *it is too late.* Forrest spun, looking at her partner with confused eyes. The dragon's large head shaking as he looked down.

"What do you mean too late Cas?" Speaking out loud it caused a few eyes to go to her,

*I can smell an aneurysm inside. It is deep, maybe even more than one. There is nothing you can do for him* She stood quiet, and quickly grabbed a hold of Carson. "He said that he can smell an aneurysm deep in his brain. There is nothing we can do." She spoke out loud, but Carson shook his head.

"How can he tell that?" the tone rather frustrated. "He can smell the fresh blood inside, it has a different smell than when it is in our bodies as it should be." Carson was bewildered, as he looked at Castiel who nodded his head.

They both looked down at Castiel, everyone now looking to him as the dragon leaned down, his nose gently touching to Jacob's forehead as his claws carefully closed his eyes. *I should have been quicker to tell you something was wrong*

*you didn't think it was this bad of an issue Cas.* She knew the dragon was wanting to blame himself, as she reached out and placed a hand on the dragon's neck. Carson was still, before he set down the paddles and turned to look at Woolsey and Elizabeth, who were both wide-eyed, and concerned. "Guess that answers your question on if this is fatal or not."


	6. Silent Help

Silent Help

Within an hour, four more people had joined Jacob in the morgue. They had been quick to follow after him, and there was virtually nothing Carson, Castiel, and Forrest combined could do. They had been ready to react, anyone showing any signs of the itching feeling had been restrained to their bed in hopes of preventing anyone from trying to cut off parts of their body. What Jacob had resorted to in his last minutes was enough for everyone to willingly volunteer to be restrained.

But even with the aid of the restraints, they could not stop the fever when it jacked up to its high point. It seemed that when the fever stalled, you only had half an hour or so left. It was as if the virus would hold the body there till it could charge up and then would raise the body's temp at a rate fast enough to cause seizures and brain aneurysms. The temp at which people fell to this varied from person to person, but it seemed once past 107 there was not much going back.

It had left Carson and Forrest alike in a state of panic. The medical knowledge they both held did not seem to matter. Carson had pulled every trick in his book, nothing he could do would keep the temps down. Forrest the same, she had exhausted everything Castiel, and she knew. Short of hauling them to Loonrian to set up in the university, she could do no more.

But the problems only continued, Forrest and Carson both watching as their help started to fall ill. While at times it took detective work, but the nurses and doctors that were beginning to feel feverish were weeded out, and forced to lie down. It had dropped their numbers quickly, but Carson was more focused on the others than he was himself. It scared Forrest, she knew it would only be a matter of time before one of them started to get sick, and it terrified her to think that Carson would.

Thankfully John and Rodney had shown up with reinforcements. Eight Mutes had flowed into the infirmary like seasoned field medics. Able to communicate with Castiel and everyone else, they proved to be more than enough help as the trained medical staff began to fall. Carson had to admit; he had wanted to see a team of Mutes in action since he had watched Castiel work alone inside the city.

He had hoped it would have been under better circumstances. But he didn't mind. All the help the provided was lifesaving. They quickly took over, tending everyone and getting those coming in set up. With four in the mess hall and four in the main infirmary, they worked fast. Castiel bouncing between the two locations once again, reporting changes and events to them every time he changed positions. While for many, it would take getting used to, the dragons were just as kind natured and cared as any human nurse or doctor on the base.

The Mutes had left the infirmary painted in shades of blue, white, and grey. Forrest had explained to him when the dragons first arrived that many of the sub-breeds had a similar look or color pattern. She said that mutes would come in all shades of blue, white, and grey. With infinite combinations of the colors and patterns, the dragons could rarely display where two dragons identical.

Castiel's markings were unique, a mutation in standard genes giving him his elegant swirls of color. But Carson still found the standard ones stunning, one had hex like pattern across his entire body in a dark shade of blue with grey stripes along each of his legs and then the base of his head and neck. Another was black and white, her patterns looking almost like an old lava lamp, and across her body ran cyan lines that displayed like a circuit breaker.

Then, of course, he remembered the Destroyers, how they usually were a solid base color with one accent. Such as how Malco was solid black with his red runes, or Armada being solid blood red with a black accent. He had found himself already wanting to start figuring out the genetics behind it all, sadly Forrest had told him it was not something Loonrians concerned themselves with.

But, she had also said he was more than fine to go ahead and try to figure it out himself. With Castiel and his team of nurses now running most the incoming traffic, it had left Carson and Forrest time to go over their data and try and figure out what the hell was happening. They would take turns, one working with Castiel who would try and stabilize people while the other worked in the office, hoping for something to finally pop out at them.

"So, right now we know that in the end, the high body temp is what is killing these people." Forrest sat on his desk, feet hanging over the edge as he leaned his head on his hand, eyes scanning the computer screen before him.

"Yes, and that right now even keeping people iced only does so much. If we catch them early enough, we can slow it down. Give the people a few more hours." He took a deep breath, not even bothering to look up at her as she too sat thinking.

"We could turn down the entire city, maybe dropping the temp citywide would slow down the spread even?" "

We could, but that could also cause those not infected to become more susceptible to it." She nodded, watching as his tired eyes strained to read everything on the screen before him.

"Teyla still has not started to show the itching symptom. We still don't know why that has to be the key thing." He muttered, as his hands started to move across the keyboard.

"Well, Cas just reported the Ronon seems to be experiencing the same."

He paused, looking up at her, "So two of our three Pegasus native humans are affected differently?"

"Three?" her head tipped to the side, the question in her expression.

"Well, Teyla and Ronon are experiencing this as if it were a normal flu. You have not even gotten sick yet."

She looked down at her feet, "Yet, I have not gotten sick yet. Keyword in that sentence is yet." She pointed it out, before looking out the office windows, able to see one of the mute dragons moving slowly along the hallway.

Carson followed her gaze, watching as one of the giant Mute dragons waked by, Pushing a table with a white sheet over the top. Both of them knowing full well what number that person was. Carson's eyes drifted to the floor, the sigh audible as Forrest looked over at him. She knew how he felt because she thought the same. "We just have to keep working Carson." He didn't respond, but his eyes stayed on the floor. She shook her head, dropping to the floor to walk over to his side.

"Don't start blaming yourself, we have no idea what is happening; we just have to figure it out." Her fingers drifted to his chin, forcing him to look up to her. It broke her a bit, to see how exhausted his eyes looked. They seemed to be unable to open fully, and his features were starting to lose their detail. He was strong in what they faced, but even then it was wearing him down. she leaned down and kissed the top of his head softly, showing him a slight bit of affection. She could have sworn she felt a small lick of heat, but then again they had both been running around minutes prior.

He lost himself for a moment in the contact, but to his dismay, she pulled away. Her touch leaving his face as he kept the eye contact they held. She smiled, having managed to bring him back into focus. "So, since apparently Ronon and Teyla are immune to the later effects of the virus what are you thinking?" She was picking his brain with his own ideas, curious as to what he had come up with.

"Well, it would not be the first time that a virus not native to a people caused problems. On Earth, European settlers brought smallpox to the Americas causing the natives to suffer a plague from it. They had no natural immunities to the disease." She nodded, while her Earth history was not perfect yet she had a rough understanding.

"So you think it could be a Pegasus native disease, and they both have immunities to it?"

"Or even just how the virus interacts with their genetic makeup. What if because of genetic differences we are more affected, or the virus reacts differently."

"That would mean this disease could change itself, take into consideration its environment."

"It might be able to, we just don't know how. It would make sense though, thinking about how it is affecting the nervous system of the body. Teyla and Ronon are experiencing a horrible flu, but it has yet to even affect their nervous systems. Something about their systems is different enough to stop that next phase." He looked at the computer screen, and sighed again.

"How fast can you work on your gene therapies?" The question seemed a bit random, but she didn't care.

"It depends why?"

"Well, if they are genetically different in a way that allows the disease to just run as a flu, maybe we could change everyone else up the same way?"

"Well, I mean we could. But we don't know what that could do. It could cause other issues we don't want. Besides even if it was safe, that would take far too long."

"Even with my help?"

"Aye, I'm afraid so."

She leaned her head against the wall looking up at the markings on the ceiling. This had been going on for hours, one getting an idea then the other figuring out how it would not work. It was relentless, and it was causing both of their spirits to break down slowly but surely. As she looked at the markings, she began to think. "Have we checked anyone for any genetic changes?"

She looked down at him, and he returned with a puzzled expression. "Why would we, this is a virus." She stood, looking at him with a suddenly excited expression.

"When we look for it as a virus, we only find it as a flu virus. You said it yourself it is not much different from what you would find on Earth, why is that?"

He bit his lip, unsure of where she was going with this. But she smiled, bigger, "What if we are not finding a difference because it is two different things? The virus could be adapting in other ways."

"That would be nearly impossible, besides we would still be able to detect it as a virus." "Not if it has become a retrovirus." Her eyes locked to his, and he was quiet, before speaking.

"You may be onto something."

"What if this disease splits, what if it starts to have to factions? One side is the virus which starts things all off. Then, a retrovirus splits and starts to affect the body on the genetic level. We would not be able to detect it with standard blood screens."

"Only one way to find out." He was grinning from ear to ear as he stood up.

"I can go pull some more samples from the others. You stay here and start running them. If it is behaving this way, we may be able to at least turn those off. If we can turn those off and stop the nervous system from overloading, we may be able to wade this out." They stood together for a moment, Forrest looking up to him with a new glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Forrest love you are a genius." This time, it was Carson who offered the brief amount of affection. He kissed the top of her head softly, before looking out the door. "I will be here waiting for your samples, and I'll also let Elizabeth know what we are going to try."

She nodded her head, "Remember, I just suggested this. You are the brilliant geneticist that is going to figure it out." Before he could even respond to her boast, she had dipped out the office.

Forrest had given Carson the samples she took from those in the infirmary, Teyla included. Much to Forrest's shock, the Athosian's fever had started to go down. Whatever it was, the virus seemed to have nearly run its course on her. Of course, it was good news and new information for them to work with. But she would be in the infirmary till Carson said otherwise.

She had passed Castiel on her way down to the mess hall, their exchange brief as she made her way there. She walked inside, taking a deep breath as she watched the Mutes doing their best to help. She looked over the large sea of people, and was able to pick out Ronon and Evan sitting in their beds. The pair having been joined by Radek within the past hour or so.

"How are you guys doing?" She asked, watching as Radek attempted to smile, only to lean over the bed for the nearest bucket. At least at the rate it worked, most the people would not have much to puke up later on.

"Been better Doc." She looked to Evan, who she quickly noticed was involuntarily itching at his knee.

"Have you started to itch Evan?" She asked as she walked over to him, setting her armload of things on the table.

"Oh I'm fine it was just a bug bite from a day ago." She glared to him, and he broke the eye contact. She had learned early on how to tell when these military men were lying about their condition.

"You know what happened; we can't risk that repeating" She did not wait for a response, as she began to grab hold of the Velcro straps and then the Major's wrists. Ronon and Radek watching as she did.

"I know, sorry." She offered a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. We think we might have an idea on how to combat this thing. Just a matter of working on it." She said as she then moved over to Ronon, who other than slightly feverish looked fine. "You and Teyla may be our key. She has started to come out of whatever this is, her fever going back down. Hopefully, if our theory is right, we can get everyone else over this."

Thankfully, the people of Atlantis were used to being prodded and poked. It had taken her less than half an hour to get all the samples that they would need to test their theory. If it was as Forrest had suggested, it would just be a matter of figuring out how to turn the genetic side of the disease off. Once they did that, they could get everyone over the disease just as Teyla had.

It was a matter of figuring out what needed to be turned off within the virus to ensure it did not split to different things. It could be done, might take a bit of time, but it was possible. Forrest knew that if Carson and she sat down and focused, they may be able to get their cure out sooner than intended. She already had an idea on how to by those farther along time, seeing as they did have a bunch of stasis pods they could use. But Forrest would be the first to admit, she had no idea how they worked or if they would even be viable in this situation.

*Forrest, you need to speak with Carson when you get back up here.* The dragon's voice was somber, as she began to walk up some of the stairs leading back up to the infirmary.

*What is it Cas? Is he okay?* She nearly feels how drained her partner was, as he stayed in her head.

*Forrest, I smell fever* her step hitched, as she realized what the dragon meant.

*How bad do you think he is? Can you tell?* *I stopped to let him know the current count, I was able to smell it once I was in the office. I did not want to pry.*

*Thank you Cas, I will talk to him. You holding up?*

*While I will admit I am tired, I can manage like this. You need to let me know if you need a break.*

*That is going to be a while Cas, just let me know If things change* There was no response, only a feeling of comfort and encouragement. Cas had the experience she lacked; he knew how to work in these kinds of medical situations.

She walked back into the infirmary, her arms full of the samples Carson needed to work on. But right then, Forrest had a very strong feeling she would be doing this on her own shortly. If he had started to show a fever, there was no way she would allow him to keep working. He was already fatigued from the day before, his body in a weaker state than it should be. On top of the past few hours of stress, it was a killer mixture of factors. She walked with confidence, knowing full well the next few minutes would be a batter of wills with him. He cared for the others too much at times, and it would fuel his argument. She hated to have to be the person to fight against that, but someone had to do it.

She opened the door of his office; he had hardly moved since she left. "Got everything we should need." She said, causing him to turn and offer a smile. She could see it more now, the slight amount of sweat on his brow. She had been correct in her earlier feeling, it had started just barely then, and now it was starting to become more apparent.

"Just set that down on the table, I will start to go through it. How is everyone?" She shook her head, setting the pile of things down on the edge of the table.

"Everyone else is holding up, what about you?" She said as she walked to stand in front of him where he sat. Keeping herself close, she watched his eyes close and reopen slowly.

"I am fine, just a wee bit tired that's all." He was doing his best to hide it from her, but he should have known better.

"That is not what Cas told me." Her tone was a concerned one, as she ran her hand along his cheek and onto his forehead. Watching as his eyes closed, and stayed shut. His body relaxing, almost admitting defeat in her hands. He was hot; she could feel how his body temperature had risen in the short time she was gone. "You are running a fever, Carson."

He could hear it, the worry in her voice. It made too much sense, of course, the day after he finally gets to hold her this sort of thing happened. Pegasus had a horrible sense of humor and timing. "It is not that bad Forrest; I am fine."

"Do not argue that with me. You look like you are going to pass out." There was a slightly angry tone in her voice, but he could hear more than that. Her fear, and frustration as he leaned against the cool touch of her hand.

"I have to keep working, and we need to find a way to slow this down."

She shook her head, her hand leaving his face to take a hold of his hands and pulling him slowly up from his chair. "We, as in Cas and I. if you want you can keep a tablet in bed with you and help a bit. But you need to lay down and rest."

*you could always stun him.*

*Last resort Cas.*

*Just saying*

"Forrest please, I can't lay here while you try and do all of this." His tone was strained, as she held his hands still in her own.

"And I won't sit here and watch you work yourself to death!" They were both quiet before she spoke again. This time there was a pleading in her voice, as she held his hands in her own tightly. "I won't let you end up like them. And for me, that means you need to rest now before you get any weaker. Please, Carson, I can do this."

He looked down at her, able to see the fear in her eyes as she spoke. He had been selfish, realizing that in his attempt to be of help he had hurt her. He sighed, head dropping he knew he could not win this one, not at the rate it was going. "Where do you want me?" She looked, up, a soft smile with broken eyes holding him captive as she spoke.

"There is a bed over here, come on." She never let go of his hands, as she began to lead him out of the office doors. The number of people moving about the infirmary had gone down, seeing as now the dragons had started to do most of the work. It made things much less crowded as Forrest led him down away from the office again. "I will let you keep your Radio, for now." She directed him to a bed, before reaching up and carefully pulling the curtains closed around them. "That way if you need something, I can be here."

"Well, I already know this is going to get worse before it gets better." He watched her reach around, pulling out a set of scrubs for him to change into.

"Hopefully that is as bad as it will get for you okay?" It was as if her words were sedative, as he suddenly found himself the slightest bit dizzy. His body leaning against the bed with a sigh. "You are worse off than you are telling me." It was not a question, but a comment as she moved over to him. Skillful hands pulling his lab coat from his shoulders, and setting it on the bed.

"I guess." The tone of his voice now much softer, she could tell he was starting to drop the tough guy charade. She sighed, shaking her head ever slightly.

"You should have been in this bed an hour ago Carson. I know you want to help everyone, but you can't help them dead." She watched as he finally managed to peel off his clothing, as she took it from him and set if in a small pile on the floor. Watching as he began to slowly pull the white scrubs on. "Just promise me Carson you won't keep hiding this from me?"

He sighed, moving to sit on the bed before turning so he could lay down. It caused the room to spin slightly, as he finally leaned back onto the bed. "You will be the first to know, I promise." She smiled lightly, walking around the edge of the bed to start pulling monitors out and set up IV bags.

"Cas and I should be able to manage. You can keep working on a tablet, but don't overdo it. If you can sleep do it." She was careful as she began to hook him up to things, watching as even then he fought against sleep. He did not say anything, but she knew he understood, or she hoped anyway.

"I know you will get this figured out." He finally spoke, as she took a hold of his hand and set him up on the IV. "You are smart enough and skilled enough. Screw whatever Woolsey has to say."

She laughed, he always did that. Encouraged and lifted her, as best he could manage. She let her hand stay with him, enjoying the light feeling of his thumb as it ran over her knuckles. "Thank you for having such faith in me."

But he shook his head, leaning against the pillows. "What have we talked about? When it comes to thanking me?" she shook her head, trying to hold back her laugh.

"You deserve it though." She looked up, able to see how tried his eyes were. He was growing weaker by the moment, even if he did his best to stay strong. "Now, quit acting like the marines of this city, and let yourself rest." She leaned up, the curtains around them still blocking everyone out. She pressed her cheek to his own, feeling the heat on his skin for a moment. The contact held before she leaned back and away. "Just let me know if you need me."


	7. Snap

Snap

Forrest groaned, rubbing her eyes as she shifted between computer screens, tablets, and microscopes. Hidden away in Carson's office, she had pretty much shut herself inside to buckle down and focus on the task at hand. If anyone had to ask her something, they did not even need to open the office door. Seeing as most of their advanced cases were within arms reach, Castiel had stayed put in the main infirmary, while the other mutes maintained the mess hall ward. So now, anything that happened Castiel told her, allowing her to stay hidden away in the somewhat quiet space that was his was her safe place for now, as she lost herself in the work she had to do. But even then she struggled, a few words she did not know required her to ask Cas, who was able to translate just with a spelling. She hated it, she had never been a strong reader or writer, and now it was causing her a multitude of problems.

She was making progress, as best she could. But deep down she was utterly terrified. The count was now at 12, and at the rate, things were going the number was only going to go up. Thankfully, Cas had left her to her thoughts for the most part. She did not want to have to have him trying to figure out her own emotions along with his own. Right then, their contact was purely as needed, relaying information and answering questions. She sighed, looking up at the screen before her she leaned her head on her hands. Her eyes looking at the board just behind the monitor. He did not keep a lot of personal things, at least compared to most. But the few things he did were fitting.

The calendar on the wall he had explained, more than once to her. How the days, weeks, and months worked on Earth. Of course the pictures too, each time the page changed he had to tell her about it. That month it was an elegant landscape, the land so open and green with rocky outcrops along a shoreline. Each picture had a story that he would tell with enthusiasm and bright eyes.

She smiled, as her eyes drifted to the few other images on the board. Pictures of his family, his mother, and sisters. She had to admit; she still struggled with their names. But he was patient and had no problem telling her each time she asked. Then one of her now favorite pictures; it was of Annie. The little red and white horse he had spoke so fondly of. Only the picture was older, by how much she was not sure, but there was Carson, sitting on to of her with one of his huge grins.

Now knowing what that picture meant to him, it made her smile. She had never really asked about that one, seeing as she was more focused on the people and landscapes. After his story yesterday, she understood. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment as she fought against the emotions. She had to figure this all out; he was on the line now. He was in one of the beds getting weaker, and sicker with each passing minute. It scared her, in a way nothing else had before. Not this way, it shook down to her core and made her want to hide. But that was not Forrest, she was not one turn and run when faced with danger or fear. Head on, with attitude was her way of going.

She did not hear the door open, or noticed when Castiel walked up next to her. The dragon lovingly nuzzling his head under her arm and into her lap. She nearly jumped, but smiled as she looked down at him. He had not said a word, but she knew he probably had felt her unease. With a sigh, she wrapped her arms around his head, pressing her face into the mane between his horns. *Thank you.*

He didn't respond, as she let her head rest against his. He always knew, what she needed and when. She caught the smell of something, and she lifted her head to see a silver coffee cup on the desk. *How did you know?* The dragon lifted his head away, pressing his face to hers before leaning back on his haunches.

If there is anything I have learned working here in this city, is that there is never a wrong time for coffee.* She raised an eye but took the cup. Filled with a chocolate flavored creamer just as she had come to enjoy she held the warm mug in her hands for a moment before drinking.

How are the other dragon's doing?*

they are well, thankfully they all are managing to communicate well with the sick. Though they did ask if you would like more, Millie offered to fly back to the clans and get some of the others.* She sighed, knowing full well the youngest dragon here was quick on her wings,

I don't think we are there yet, but I will let you all know if that time comes.*

He nodded, watching as she seemed to down the coffee in a matter of seconds. * I will get you another cup, and possibly find you something to eat?*

Coffee yes, food not so much.* He seemed to laugh, as he turned to walk out of the office. But paused, his ears swirling around. *Rodney is talking to Carson, he sounds angry about something.*

I can take care of that.* she said as she stood from the rolling chair, walking past the dragon to head out into the central ward.

Castiel broke off, heading another direction to check on some things. Forrest walking with ease along the halls leading to where she had left Carson an hour ago. *You are going to be angry, don't kill him.*

She shook her head *Great, just great Cas. Thanks.* he didn't respond, but she could feel that the dragon was somewhat concerned as she rounded the corner to see an empty bed and a very loud Rodney Mckay, who was going off about how he had not been asked by anyone how he was when he first came into the infirmary.

"What the hell is this?" Her tone rose, and her blood started to boil as she looked at the two people before her. Carson was still hooked up to everything but was standing next to Rodney with a scanner in his hands.

"Oh, just checking Rodney real fast." He was attempting to play down the situation, but it was not going to work this time.

"You need to be in bed." Her tone was angry, and Carson looked at Rodney who was doing his best to ignore her. He had gotten paler, and his body was weak. He was not even standing fully but leaned against the bed. "Why did you go to him over Cas or me?" She was between them now, pulling the scanner from Carson's hands before either had a chance to argue.

"Well um, you both seemed busy and I didn't really want to bother you." The scientist stuttered the words, as he found himself now toe to toe with a very agitated Forrest.

"So you thought you would come to ask Carson to look you over, who has been in bed the past hour for a very good reason?" Carson had to admit, he had never really heard her this angry. She was fuming really, as he slowly got back on the bed behind her.

"Well, he said he was not too bad."

"I don't give a damn if he said he was feeling perfect. Anyone with eyes can see he is getting sicker." The words were growled, as Carson watched the color fade from Rodney's face.

"I'm the one that said I could scan him for anything, I didn't think it would be too taxing." Carson did his best to try and divert her rage from Rodney, but she only sent him a sideways glance. Her focus completely on Rodney who at this point in time had managed to be at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person. She was tried, beyond frustrated, and scared, with all of it massing and festering out as rage towards him.

"I didn't think it would take more than a few seconds." He was doing his best to defend himself against her, but the fire in her eyes was enough to scare even a marine into a retreat.

"So what are you feeling? What do you feel is wrong?" Her responses short, as Rodney swallowed.

"Well um, I mean I felt like I was getting feverish, but that stopped. Then I got light headed and a bit dizzy. I figured better safe than sorry."

She did not say anything but pressed her hand to his forehead with a deep sigh. "You have no fever, Rodney."

"You sure, Carson just about had me scan-"

"Rodney, you are fine. If anything you just sealed the fact you will get sick later on by coming in here."

Her statement caused Rodney's eyes to go wide, "Oh God, your right." What little color he had faded with the realization he should not have walked into the infirmary at all.

"Now, get out of here Rodney. If you do actually start to become feverish you come to Cas or me. If I catch you trying this shit again I will have Cas toss you out of here himself."

"But what about the feverish feeling from earlier? I mean it felt like one?" She took a deep breath, doing her best to hold back but failing.

"Rodney, hot flashes are quite common with women your age. Now get the hell out of here." He was shocked into silence with her remark and was about to say something when he caught Carson's glare from behind her. Without a word, he turned and stormed past one of the mutes that had come around a corner. Forrest staying still, watching as he left.

Tell all the others that if he shows up, to make sure he is actually sick.*

"That was a wee bit much." She turned to look at Carson, who had laid back into the bed.

"He should have come to me." The words short, as she walked over to his side, checking all the monitors as he sighed.

"He gets scared with this kind of thing."

"you mean most things?" He laughed a little, as he managed to catch her hand with one of his.

"Forrest, you are starting to overwork yourself." His voice soft, as she stood looking down at where his hand held her own. Able to feel the heat his body was putting off.

"I have to figure this out. And I cant have you trying to help every person who comes to you with a problem." She watched as he was still for a moment, "Even talking this much is taking a lot out of you right now." She held tighter to his hand, watching as his eyes stayed half open.

"Well, I have already puked what little I had eaten up already. That tired me out the most." While he was trying to reassure her, she found it did not help with her own thoughts.

They were both quiet for a moment, as she looked down at her feet. "I can't lose you, Carson." That tone, he had heard it so rarely from her. The way her voice got soft and timid, it was how she spoke when scared. It hurt, as he lay there completely helpless as her hold tightened.

"You won't." He got his hand away, putting it up to her face with a soft smile. Watching as she leaned into the contact, beautiful eyes closing with a sigh. "Just don't lose yourself trying to fix things." Her hand moved over his own, as she opened her eyes. He was right, on that matter. If she broke herself down no one else would be able to fix things.

"I can do that." He smiled warmly. She didn't say anything, as she set his hand back down and left the side of the bed.

She had been right, with how the virus was working. While it had excited her, it now left her with a new frustration. She was back in the office, looking over the results of the tests. The virus did have a second phase it seemed, and the retrovirus that stemmed from it was just as she figured. It was attacking the genes in control of the brain's senses, focusing on touch.

While now she knew what it was working with, she had to figure out how to fix it. That was the hardest part, as she began to set up simulations on the computer as she had seen Carson do a hundred times before. She had no idea how long it would take her, but right then she realized she was making progress. The steps may have been small, but actions none the less.

something else is on your mind little one, what is it?* She had no idea where Castiel was then, but she had to admit his timing was excellent. She needed some second opinions.

I feel like I have seen this before Cas, and it bugs me. Just the turning off of genes it is gnawing at me.* There was a pause, and a curious feeling in her head as she looked at the screen before her.

Now that you say it, I agree. I too feel like we have heard of something like this before.* She pushed away from the desk, the chair sliding over to where she had stored away some of the Loonrian tablets she had been working with.

You think it could be Loonrian then?*

She sighed, *While I do not feel it is, maybe if there is a disease similar we can use that data to speed up the cure for this.* She explained, as she pulled one of the larger tablets out. The blue crystals glowing to life in her hands as she stood, setting it back down on a table.

Good thinking little one, that may very well speed things up.*

He left her, as she tapped a few buttons on the screen and the small tablet projected a blue light display into the air. The giant screens half surrounding Forrest as she began to tap into the projection. She just needed to get into the main archive of known Loonrian diseases. From there, scrolling through them all would take time, but in her native tongue, she could process the information quickly.

Besides, simulations would take time to run, and at that point in time working with much more familiar technology was a weight off her own shoulders. What she would not give to have everyone tucked away in the university ward, back in its prime. Sure, she had a team of mutes working for her but if they were all in their element, things would have been much different.

Elizabeth walked with Woolsey and John down the pretty much empty hallways of the city. They had not gotten any reports in nearly three hours, the last they had all heard was that Carson was down. It had now been nearly 24 hours since they had returned from their trip off world and both Elizabeth and John were concerned with how Forrest could be holding up.

Woolsey, on the other hand, was rather concerned that she had forgotten to keep them updated. The eye rolls had been held back, it had been their luck that something like this had happened in the mans first day back in the city. Then again, they were all secretly hoping that soon the man would start to feel feverish and have to fall into the care of Castiel and his nurses.

They walked into the infirmary quietly, Woolsey watching wide-eyed as a few Mutes worked quietly with the people inside. John and Elizabeth looking around for a familiar face, and soon enough Castiel trotted around the corner to them. Moving quickly over to them he dipped his head in greeting, before writing onto his tablet for them. 'Are you all feeling alright?'

Elizabeth smiled, "We all are fine Castiel, but we had not gotten an update from Forrest in some time and figured it be best to come to check on her." The dragon seemed to sigh, as he wrote.

'Her research and tests hold most of her attention right now, I should have thought of getting a report to you all myself.'

"That's fine Cas, you are all pretty busy down here." John commenting, before the dragon turned to motion them to follow.

They did not speak, as they passed by the people on the beds. Some of them were restrained, others still hurling into buckets over the edge of their beds. John caught Woolsey's unease, as he seemed to do his best to stay away from the beds. But he also was attempting to stay out of the way of the Mutes as they buzzed around the infirmary like worker bees. Castiel led them quietly to the office doors, they were all able to just barely make out a bright blue light that was filling the room. The dragon slowly opened the door, revealing Forrest. Who was flicking through blocks of text on the Loonrian tablet display.

"Unless you have a magic cure Cas, it can wait." She spoke out loud, her mind too focused on the data before her as she worked. John and Elizabeth exchanged glances, realizing that Forrest had no idea they were here. The dragon held up a paw, telling them to stay put as he slowly walked into the office.

Forrest this will only take a few minutes*

"A few minutes that some people do not have Cas." They were all taken back by the venom in her words, as she still refused to turn around. None of them had ever heard her speak to the dragon in such a way.

Please Forrest it is ju* They did not know she had cut the dragon off mid-sentence, as she spun around

"Cas leave me the fuck alone I am working!" She instantly stopped, her eyes wide as she looked at the three people behind the dragon.

I am so sorry Cas*

its okay little one, I know you are stressed* He walked across to her, moving his head under her arms. "I am so sorry I had no idea you all were here."

Elizabeth shook her head, "You are fine Forrest. You have a lot on your plate right now." The three walking into the office, Woolsey looking at the display screen behind her. The Loonrian letters a mess of gibrsh to him as he looked around the small space.

"What all has happened? Have you made any progress?" Elizabeth treading lightly, seeing as the doctor was tired, and beyond strung out in the current situation.

"Well, our theory that the virus has two sections was right. There is a genetic side we had not been able to detect with our normal screens. I have found it, identified it, and I have been running simulations on ways we could get that to stop. If we can stop the retrovirus side of things, we should be able to get everyone over this just like Teyla."

"Speaking of Teyla, how is she?" John asking as he looked at Forrest.

"Other than body sore and tired, she is much better. I had her moved down to the mess hall."

"So what are you doing with all this?" Woolsey asking as he looked at the display screen behind her.

"Cas and I both agree, we feel like we have heard of a virus that behaves this way. We just don't know where or what. So I started up one of my tablets and I have been going through the Loonrian disease archives while the simulations run." She explained, doing her best to be polite to the man, who now had seen her temper flare.

"I thought you said what everyone here has is not Loonrian?"

"It's not, but, if I can find the disease that is similar it may be able to help me perfect a treatment plan faster. Give me an idea on where to start or what to work with." Elizabeth nodded, satisfied.

"How is Carson?" She asked, looking to Forrest who did her best to not display much emotion on the matter.

"Well, he has nothing left to puke up at this point in time. His fever was at 104.2 last I checked on him. Thankfully he was already pretty tired, he has been asleep as of late. No itching yet."

She paused, looking at all of them as they stood around her in silence. "How about all of you? Are any of you showing any symptoms yet?" She asked as he studied each of their faces carefully.

"I know I feel fine." John saying as he looked at the other two, Elizabeth nodding.

"Yes, I am fine as well." Leaving Woolsey to the curious and concerned gazes of Castiel and Forrest.

"All is good here." He said as he looked between the three people focused on him.

"Well, if you all are okay, I will try and have reports up to you in better time. But it is best you all head back up to the conference room. The longer you stay in here the more likely you are to get sick faster." She did not need to tell them twice, the three quick to say their goodbyes and turn for the door.

It was John that hung back, leaving Elizabeth to walk back to the control room with Woolsey. He looked down at the small doctor, who had walked out of the office to see them off. "You are doing good, you know?" he said, watching as Castiel bounded off into another section of the infirmary.

"Sure does not feel like it."

"Well, you have your team working right now. As much as Woolsey wants to find issues it is hard to when you are handling everything so well." She smiled, looking up to him. "You will figure this out." He pat her on the shoulder, before he walked easily out of the infirmary, heading for the mess hall.

She took a deep breath before Castiel poked into her mind. *One of the others had to put restraints on Carson about ten minutes ago.* His report somber, as she closed her eyes.

I am going to go check on him.*

good, you need a break from the screens. Hard on the eyes.* She shook her head a little, Castiel and his parental tone giving her a bit of comfort as she began to walk for where she knew Carson lay. She glided around the corner, and it made her breathing hitch. His arms and legs held down to the bed as she watched him occasionally twitch. His fever now at the 105 mark.

She walked closer to him, able to see how his chest slowly rose and fell with each breath he took. His eyes closed, head tipped back as his entire face glistened with sweat. She walked closer to him, her hand reaching up to gently hold his face. He was going downhill far too fast, he should have been resting hours before. She watched as his eyes slowly opened, the spark and light they held now dull, as his body fought off the horror that was this virus. He smiled lightly, as he felt the contact of her hand. "Well, I am running simulations, and trying to see if I can figure out why the way this thing behaves is so familiar to Cas and me."

She had done her best to take breaks and tell him what she was doing, but even then it was hard to watch him get worse and worse with each visit she paid him. But she knew it meant the world to him, as he did his best to speak. "Good, you will have it soon." It was hardly a whisper, as she did her best to keep her own composure.

"I hope so."

"I know so." His eyes closed, she knew it took more energy to keep them open than he had to spare.

"How are you feeling? Can I try anything to get you more comfortable?" He kept his eyes closed, but smirked,

"Other than a bullet, not really." She laughed a little, as she looked at his smile. "I feel like my entire body is on fire."

She froze, her hand staying on his face in silence her brain began to run rampant. His eyes opened slowly, giving her a concerned look. "Forrest?" She looked at him, her eye suddenly lighting up.

"Carson, by the dragon of the moon you may have just figured this out." He was utterly confused, as she dropped her hand from his face.

You don't think?*

I think exactly that Cas.* she was an energetic mess, as she looked at Carson with a grin. "We may know what this is after all"

Cas go to the morgue now, tell me what their eyes look like.* She could hear rustling and watched as Castiel ran quickly past, causing a few of the other mutes to jump out of his way. Carson looked confused, but she smiled, leaning up and kissing his head quickly.

"Well, glad I could help, I think." He muttered, watching as she turned to run back for the office. He watched her leave without another word, with a soft smile. Letting his eyes close once again.


	8. Fyer

Fyer

Forrest was running at this point, Castiel bounding along beside her as the pair began to make their way to the control room and the others. Her tablet in her arms, as she excitedly took the stairs two at a time. Castiel had left the infirmary and its occupants in the safe paws of his mutes, who all had been informed of what they were in fact battling. Fire, it had been all she needed to realize she did know what she was fighting against. As impossible as it would seem to the Loonrian natives, it made sense. She jogged across the control room, noticing that now even Chuck had left his post to rest. But right then, with what she knew, they would not have to wait long for help.

The meeting room had everyone, well those important enough. Elizabeth, John, Rodney, and Woolsey all sitting around the table as she ran inside, with Castiel coming to a stop on his haunches beside her. Both of them wide-eyed, and excited. "We know what this is." She explained, walking forward and setting down her tablet before Elizabeth. Activating the touch screen before them all a large block of text was displayed. "Well, I will say that I know when to admit when I am wrong. What we have been fighting, is in fact Loonrian." Rodney was the only one who was starting to attempt to read the Loonrian medical jargon on the screen before them all.

"What is it then?" Woolsey had a near "I told you so" tone to his voice that made Castiel's mind flicker with agitation.

"It is called Mind Fyer." She started, causing Rodney's eyes to go wide.

"Wait for a second, I have heard of that before.. in the history archives, I have been going over. That plague destroyed nearly 40 percent of Loonrian's population like, 5000 or so years ago." Forrest nodding her head,

"Yes, that is exactly what we are faced with. You all have to understand, we eradicated Mind Fyer back then the disease as considered extinct. I would have never thought of it. Even more so since it is presenting itself differently than it ever did on Loonrian."

Everyone glancing around before John finally spoke. "What do you mean different? It changed itself?"

"Yes and no. Mind Fyer was known as a genetic virus on Loonrian. It takes on a different look to ensure it goes unnoticed till it is too late."

"On Loonrian, it started out as what you all call pneumonia. On Loonrian this is a very common issue, seeing as we live in a cooler and damp climate. Along with the fact that the lower class was known for being horrible with hygiene and health care. Back then no one really thought about it till it was too late. Now, for you guys this disease started out as a flu virus common for your people, and then progressed. Moving onto the itching, causing an overload of the sensory sections of the brain. This then causes the body to twitch and then the body temp to go higher. For Loonrians, it affected the memory receptors of the brain. Loonrians would start to replay their most distinct memory. Good or bad, they would start to experience it as if it was happening in real time. This loop would then stick."

She paused, looking at Castiel, "From there it is like the mind starts to over load. The memory will start to skip.. like the DVDs we use sometimes do. This combined would cause the body to seize along with aneurysms of the brain." Woolsey looked almost angry, as he spoke up.

"Why would the symptoms of death not be enough for you to know it was this Mind Fyer?"

"Because I personally was not thinking a virus we destroyed 5000 years ago was on the table. But I had Castiel look at the eyes of those who have passed, just as with Mind Fyer the pupils of their eyes were split. Listen I am angry enough at myself for not thinking of this sooner but now we have a chance, and I know how to fix it."

"That still does not explain why Teyla was fine, and Ronon too." John half asking, half stating,

"It is likely because they are different genetically from you and me John. Earth humans must share similar DNA markers as Loonrians. They must not. The disease can only go on to the next phase when specific genetic markers are present. Since they must not have them, the virus ran like the flu. It is also why I have not gotten it, I won't. I was vaccinated at birth." She further explained as she looked at Elizabeth.

"You said you have the cure?"

"Yes and no. There is only one known cure for Mind Fyer, and it is back on Loonrian."

"What do you mean? Could you just make it here?" Woolsey looking between everyone present.

"It would take more time than we have."

"We know it as the All Cure. Now, this is a drug we do not use lightly. The only time it was used and that was to treat Mind Fyer. It is a universal cure for anything you can think of, it was synthesized from the immune system of the dragons of the time. One vial of the stuff would be more than enough to have everyone over this within hours. On top of that, there is a vaccine we can easily administer to the entire base, and the Athosians."

"So you are saying you need to go back to Loonrian?" Woolsey was not even giving Elizabeth or John a chance to respond to what the doctor had to say.

"I do not need to, only Castiel does. He knows exactly where the All Cure is, along with a good store of the vaccine in the university. The stuff can keep indefinitely, it should all be able to be used. John would just have to fly a jumper there and wait outside for him."

"Hold on, why did you not bring up this All Cure when this all started? You held back information that could have saved those who died!"

Forrest took his glare as a challenge, as she walked forward towards where he sat. "We did not know what this was, or what we were up against. If I had known this was Mind Fyer from the start I would have sent for the All Cure instantly. You need to understand, this is not a medicine to be taken lightly. the All Cure, is a sacred medicine. The vials I need are the originals. They are not used lightly, for in order to make it.. a dragon must die. You see, when a dragon is near death their body will produce a large number of antibodies as a last-ditch attempt at survival. One lone dragon produced the All Cure the first time. That was more than enough for our entire population. I would never think of using it unless we were faced with something like Mind Fyer! "

There was a silence in the room, as her voice rose and Castiel stood at her side with his head held high. "Castiel's ancestor did not sacrifice himself for the All Cure to be used on minor ailments"

They all looked at her, and Elizabeth nodded her head, "You have every right to be cautious in the use of a drug such as that Forrest, what is important is you know now what you can do and how to fix all of this"

John rose from the table as she finished speaking, looking to the dragon "Come on, Cas lets go." He didn't need the okay for this one, not when going and getting a cure was not something that would take longer.

"Hold on, I feel like this may not be wise. Doctor Atla there are still things that need to be clarified before we rush off to things."

Her anger flared, as the room watched Castiel grow. Large enough to take up most the open floor space of the conference room. The dragon's large maw hanging inches from Woolsey, his lips pulled back into a snarl as Forrest stood next to the dragon's neck. Her eyes did not waver, as she stood proudly. "Mr. Woolsey, I have tried my best to show you kindness, and respect. But you have pushed us both to our breaking point. On Loonrian, I live by a code as well. Just as every person who works in the infirmary does. Carson told me, the first part of their code is Do No Harm. Mine is different, the first part for me is All Shall Be Helped. In my time here, I have come to work with both of those in mind."

"Mr. Woolsey, right now I have an obligation to do both. I will do no harm to anyone on this base, and all will be helped. Castiel holds these values as I do. We will not allow you to come in here, and tell us to do otherwise. Now, my advice to you would be to go find your quarters for your visit here and stay there until I send one of _my_ nurses to give you a dose of the All Cure, and the vaccine. Trust me when I say it is better of that you stay out of our way. To put it bluntly, the voice in my head does not like you. Not at all, in fact, he is waiting for the slightest reason to drop you from the top of this tower and watch you hit the water below like a stone on a lake. His threats are not empty."

Her voice was cold and powerful, the anger in her eyes causing even Rodney to want to go hide in his own quarters. Elizabeth, while shocked could not help but be proud of the normally eccentric and agreeable doctor. Standing her ground, on what she believed was right and would work. Woolsey was shocked, his mouth slightly open as he looked down the teeth of Castiel, who was still snarling at him. He said nothing, but his eyes quickly looked at the floor as Forrest looked to Elizabeth. "John, Castiel, head out. Be quick."

"Yes, Ma'am." He turned and stepped over Castiel's tail as he made his way out of the conference room.

you can go now Cas*

You sure, I would like to make sure he gets the message* Forrest reached out, setting her hand on the dragon's neck.

I am sure he gets it, don't worry you can be the one to take him the vaccine and cure.. after he gets a little sicker* The dragon seemed to laugh, as he slowly pulled back away from the desk. His body shrinking down to its regular size.

We will return.*

The dragon turned, loping off and out of the conference room after John, knowing he could easily catch up to the Colonel. Forrest stood still, looking to Elizabeth who was smiling ever slightly. Seeing as Woolsey had been shocked into silence, and Rodney had no idea what to say they were the only two with the ability to communicate. "I would like to return to the infirmary now. If that is okay Elizabeth?" Forrest was back to a more formal way of going as she held herself high. Elizabeth was proud, watching as Forrest found her voice, and her power.

"Of course it is Forrest." With a dip of her head, Forrest turned on her heels. Walking for the conference room doors. Then opened before her, and with her back to them, a huge grin spread across her face. Never had raising her voice felt so right.

"Forrest." She stopped but did not turn around to Elizabeth's call. "Good Job." She glanced down at her feet, the grin still on her face. Taking a deep breath, she walked forward again, catching the encouraging smiles of those who sat at the controls of the city. John had kept the doors open for her speech, and most of them had heard it. All of them excited, and somewhat inspired by the small statured girl who had just told Woolsey off with fire and class. She could honestly say, if she had learned anything from these people, it was to never take things belly up in submission. Always fight for what you believe.

Elizabeth smiled, looking at Rodney who without a word, stood and gathered a few things from the table before walking quickly out. He did not want to be present for the discussion that was about to happen. The doors closed behind him, and Elizabeth looked over to Woolsey, who was managing to recover from the tongue lashing he had just received. She waited, calmly for the man to figure out what to say.

Within a few minutes, he finally found the best response. "You have all trained her well I see." He said, looking to Elizabeth, who smirked.

"I like to think all of them are well trained, at least to my standards."

He shook his head, "this place does seem to have that effect on people; going against orders, or their respect for superiors. You seem to breed them like that." She shook her head, both of them quiet for a moment as the gate outside roared to life, followed by the low hum of a jumper.

"Well, be that as it may. I would suggest you heed her advice. While Forrest is pretty easy to talk with, Castiel is much different. Give them a day, and maybe then you will be able to make some mends." She suggested as she stood from the table.

"I think that may be wise."


	9. Victory

Within an hour of Castiel and John returning with the All Cure, Forrest and her mutes had gotten all of those in the infirmary set up on the drug. Forrest overseeing everyone who was currently down on a bed to be the first given the medication. Once they had been treated, Castiel and a few of the other Mutes set out to give the cure to all on the base. Even those not showing any symptoms, ensuring that the virus would be eradicated from the population of the city before the vaccine would be given. Forrest had explained, that within a day everyone should be good to get the vaccine, and that once again Mind Fyer would be an extinct virus. It was good news to all, seeing as once again the city had managed to evade death. While some had still fallen to the virus, the outlook for everyone else was excellent.

Elizabeth had found Forrest working in the infirmary, and much to the doctor's protest had ordered her to rest herself. Castiel and the other mutes were very much capable of seeing to everyone's recovery, but Forrest still wanted to make sure that everyone was alright. Elizabeth insisted and had managed to get Castiel involved on the matter. She stood no chance and was nearly chased from the infirmary by the pair. She had walked the halls like a zombie, and as tired as she was she had a few more things to get done. She had returned to her room, looking at the familiar sight of the place she called home. Her things all in place, and the room tidy seeing as Castiel had taken it upon himself to be the housekeeper. She had never been organized with her things, and even now things never changed.

The shower she took was welcoming; she did not even bother standing. She had sat on the floor of the shower, letting the hot water wash over her in silence. The morning shower she had taken had been quick, seeing as she was not in her bathroom. Not this time, her promise from earlier to fall asleep inside was almost fulfilled. But she could not sleep, not when she had decided how to spend the next few hours. Carson had wanted to spend their day off together, and generally speaking they had. Not in the sense, they had both wanted, but there was still a chance for that. She had a plan, and with John's help, she would be able to do it easily. He was the one with the best movie collection after all.

While his fever had gone down, his body hurt. It was a collective issue that everyone who had been in the itching stage now had. It had been from their bodies involuntary twitching and convulsing; it had left their muscles sore and fatigued. He was tired, but he was staying awake. He had not seen Forrest since he had woke up an hour earlier, and as the mutes walked around the infirmary, he had managed to gather that Elizabeth had forced her to go and rest. He just wanted to see how she was doing, to know she was, in fact, alive, and not somewhere on a bed like he was. She had done it, just as he knew she would. Sure, rumors had spread of her explosion at Woolsey, but he wanted to hear it straight from her.

He kept his watch, looking each direction from his bed. Soon enough, a familiar frame walked along the hall. A few of the Mutes offering her a welcoming and affectionate series of calls as she walked into her domain once again. She smiled, when she found him awake laying in bed. His body now covered with a few blankets, and his face had started to regain its color. He was recovering, and while it may be a few days till he was back on his feet as he should be; he would be okay. "Good to see you awake." She said as she walked to the side of his bed, a laptop in her arms along with a DVD case.

"I would say the same, but I think you are supposed to be resting yourself, love."

She was dressed casually, unlike the typical daily attire she was wearing sweatpants and a loose-fitting t-shirt. Her hair wet, but braided as always. She looked refreshed, as she stood at his side. "Yeah I know, but I am not working, I am here to visit you." She explained, her smile large. Seeing as the only ones really working around the infirmary were the Mutes, she was not concerned about others taking note of their interactions. His eyes lit up, and she smiled, now seeing the spark had returned to them. "Besides, it is Friday." She stated, with a slight smirk.

He raised a brow to her, "So cartoons?"

"No, we had a deal remember. I said I would start joining your movie nights if you would come down when I told some of my Loonrian stories."

He did remember the deal they had struck sometime in the past day or so, but he did not expect her to be so willing to start so soon. "Well, that would be true love." She smiled, her grin huge as she looked at him.

"well, make some room then." He looked at her a bit confused, but suddenly he understood. He shifted in the bed, using some of the little strength he had left to scoot over in the small medical bed. She set the laptop down next to his legs, along with the DVD. She sat down on the bed, pushing herself up and onto it.

"You no this is not something I would allow normally." He joked, watching as she shifted around to where she was leaned against his chest, not touching any of the monitors hooked to him.

"Well, right now Cas and I are in charge here. I can allow it."

He smiled, lifting his arms up to where they were wrapped around her. Resting his face against her hair, he watched as she grabbed the older laptop and began to set up the movie player on it. "So what did you choose? For our movie?" He was a bit curious, considering she probably had no idea what to expect with any of the movies.

"Well, I went and asked John what a good movie would be to watch with you. Told him I owed you a real movie. He suggested this one." She said as she held the DVD cover over her shoulder so he could see it.

"Oh, that just figures." He said, looking at the cover of Braveheart in her hand.

"John said that it would be a good one to watch with you, and maybe help me learn some things about Scotland." He was holding in the laughter, seeing as it would make his ribs hurt. He just shook his head. "Well, it might." He said watching as she began to get the movie ready to play on the laptop.

"Where is Castiel? I figured he would be trying to get some sleep too." He asked as she leaned back more against his body, the laptop resting on her lap where they could both easily see it.

"He is in the morgue. He said he wished to sit vigil for those we lost today."

"he knows he does not have to do that?"

"He does, but it is how he is. A few of the other mutes will join him once they all are happy with how everyone is here. Mutes take the death of a patient very seriously. They will be the ones to help prepare them to go back to Earth."

Carson nodded, his understanding before he just let his head lean against hers. They were quiet again, without words they spoke in one another's comfort. He was proud of her, excited for her. She had taken his place in the infirmary with ease, and proved exactly why he needed her in here. She was just as skilled and worthy as anyone else here.

They did not know they had one person watching, and that one person had managed to sneak a picture from around the corner he hid behind. Rodney was smiling, an evil smile. Looking at the picture on his tablet, he turned to walk out of the infirmary. He had gone to check on Carson, and apologize for causing problems earlier. But that could wait, as right then he had the proof that John and Evan had been looking for. He smirked, as he began to make his way away from the infirmary, and towards the mess hall. Knowing full well that a certain Major would love to see that there was now concrete proof that he had in fact won the bet against John. In fact, Evan had won the bet by around three and a half hours. The scientist smirked, knowing full well that someone was about to be in for a very rude awakening, knowing that his cheating had in fact not worked out.

* * *

Ill be _open with the fact_ i _have been slacking_ bad _on this, and_ i _will say_ i _have no idea when_ i _will get the next story up. I do plan to keep going lol. We have started to settle into our new ranch and with winter fast_ approaching i _will soon have more time to write again. Thank you to all who have read and followed, hope y'all have enjoyed! Hopefully you_ wont _have to wait_ to _long for the next one! - Beastie_


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